Fae and Foes
by Jasper Price
Summary: Next Gen: Things are strange, Darla Nott knows this. People are strange, class is strange, living is strange, and death is strange. When her older cousin, Scorpius, mysteriously dies, Darla realizes that things will get much stranger. /Summary sucks
1. Chapter 1

The train station was full of parents sending their excited kids away to Hogwarts. Parents nearly in tears about sending their eleven year olds away for the first times, other parents looking rather pleased about getting their children away from the house for a few months. One parent in the crowd looked neither upset nor relieved, he looked rather frustrated.

Theodore Nott stood over the eleven year old girl, looking quite tired with dark bags under his eyes and his long dark hair was in a mess. "Darla, please, just get on the train," he begged, putting his hands on the girl's shoulders.

Darla stood stiff and stuck her hands in the pockets of her black dress pants. "No," she said firmly and looked away from her father. Her choppy black hair fell casually over her dark brown eyes as she turned, but she didn't make a move to fix it. Instead, she stared off at the platform sign.

Theodore, annoyed, turned his daughter around and poked her in the back with his cane to get her to move. "You'll go, and you'll like it, and you'll have fun, I'm sure you'll make friends, and you, please, won't attempt to set anyone on fire."

Darla dug the heels of her black Mary Jane's into the concrete. "First of all, I didn't attempt to set anyone on fire. I succeeded. Secondly," she argued. "I was making my dear cousin better."

Theodore stopped poking his daughter and stared blankly at her. He leaned on his cane and sighed. "How was that…you know what? Never mind, I don't even care." Theodore massaged his temples. He was beginning to think that 'Darla' wasn't the proper name for his daughter. Perhaps 'Mora' would have been better, or 'irritation', if he wanted to be perfectly blunt about it. Of course anyone would get irritated if they had to listen to an eleven year old rant and rave about how much she didn't want to go to school. For the past month that was all Theodore had gotten to hear.

Darla glanced around the platform, no one she saw really seemed like they would be friend material. She spotted a gaggle of Hufflepuffs chatting a few feet away, she could only tell because they were already in their robes. "I'm going to be in Slytherin, right, Daddy?"

"I don't know," Theodore groaned, though he really didn't have any doubts about what house Darla would be sorted into. She wasn't the most studious girl, nor was she terribly brave, nor was she the most loyal. What she did have was a certain drive, and a very annoying stubbornness about her. "Nor will you if you don't get on the train."

Darla crossed her arms again and stomped her foot on the ground. "No," she said in a very shrill voice. "I don't wanna go. There are people there and I don't like people. And what if they want to talk to me or something? Or touch me? I hate being touched!"

"Darla, you're causing a scene," Theodore said, mustering all his patience.

"I'm not causing a scene!" Darla glanced around and lowered her voice a bit. "Oh, I guess I am causing a scene…"

Theodore nodded and gave Darla a moment to calm herself down. Darla took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. "If I go will you send me fudge?"

"Who the hell is fudge?"

That small remark caused Darla to crack a smile. "Do I have to make friends," she asked in an overly childish voice.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think it would be better for you if you did? Just, you know, be yourself and you'll make the right kind of friends."

Darla didn't know how to be anyone other than herself, she didn't think that the phrase made much sense. Who would she be other than herself? Besides that, Darla had to disagree with her father. From what she had learned from story books friends were more of a hindrance than anything else. Beside, none of the really good characters had friends. Snow White had the dwarves, and she found them to be quite rude and they caused Snow quite a mess. Now, Beauty didn't have any friends and her life turned out, in Darla's mind, the best. Friends weren't something she really understood, nor were they something she actively searched for. "Do I have to get on the train now?"

Theodore nodded.

With a very loud sigh, Darla pushed her trolley to the train and looked back to her father. "I really, really hate this, but, whatever, I'll go I guess" she said as a goodbye.

"Well, good. Otherwise I might've had to throw you on the train," Theodore said, Darla couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not.

She glanced around at all of the other parents and children. Many of them were embracing or laughing. Darla looked back to her father, he didn't look like he was ready to throw his arms around her or kiss her on the forehead. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, playing with a loose string on her shirt. She wanted to give him a hug, but she wasn't sure how he would accept it.

"Darla," Theodore said, bringing Darla out of her thoughts. "You should get on the train soon. We wouldn't want to dawdle all day."

"Right…no dawdling," Darla agreed, still a bit distracted. "Well, um, I'll see you at Christmas then, right?"

Theodore nodded and ruffled Darla's hair. "Of course, Darla, of course."

Darla noticed that this wasn't how the other parents said goodbye, but she didn't want to drag it out and she, reluctantly, got onto the train. She didn't bother to tell her father that she loved him or that she would miss him. Dragging out the goodbye would have just made it harder for her.

Wandering down the corridors, she finally found an open compartment. It was empty, just as Darla had hoped. She settled down and stared blankly out the window, her father was nowhere to be seen. Darla's stomach seemed to drop. Her father had been trying very hard to get rid of her, she decided, and he had finally done it. For the first time in her life, Darla was completely alone. She blinked several times, her eyes burning with tears she refused to let anyone else see.

"Hoy, you seem to have an open seat."

Quickly, Darla wiped her eyes and looked up at the boy. He was taller than she was, not that that was any feat. Darla was small for her age, she was barely tall enough to reach the dinning table at home. He was already dressed in his Hogwarts robes, his Gryffindor tie was loosened, however, and his shirt was untucked.

"Yes," she said, her voice low. "I like it that way. That's the main reason I chose this seat."

The boy shrugged and ran his hand back through his messy brown hair. "Well, it won't be empty for long. You mind," he asked, gesturing to the seat opposite of Darla.

Darla looked up, her face set with a rather grim look. She spun the end of the hair around her fingers and took a deep breath. She did not want to be seen with a Gryffindor, that was the last thing she wanted to be stuck with. 'Although, Daddy did tell me to be nice,' she thought and closed her eyes, contemplating if she should even say anything.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue," the boy teased.

Darla looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a cat," she said, sounding completely baffled.

"No it means…" The boy smiled and sat down. Darla decided not to tell him to go away for several reasons. He was bigger and older than her and she was certain that he could beat her up if he wanted to. Also, he had confidence that actually scared Darla a little. "You seem like you're a little strange there, girly."

Darla puffed out her chest like a rooster and put her hands on her hips. "I am not strange, maybe you're the strange one" she declared. "And my name is not 'girly'!"

Oddly, the boy laughed.

Darla felt her face turn red and she looked down at her hands. She knew she probably shouldn't have snapped, that was no way to go about making friends.

"Well then, what is your name," the boy asked. He relaxed and draped his arm around the back of his seat.

She cleared her throat. "Darla," she told him. "Darla Queenie Nott."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Huh, Nott. As in 'Nott so Darling?"

Darla wasn't sure if he meant for the comment to be funny, but she didn't think it was funny at all. "Don't make fun of my name," Darla snapped and crossed her arms. "I'll bet you have a funny name."

The boy shrugged. "Not really. James Potter, not many jokes you can come up with for that, Queenie."

"Don't call me that, either," Darla said. She hated her middle name, she thought it was rather stupid. "Potter," she repeated. She had heard that name somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.

James shrugged. "Yeah, but I won't sign any autographs. I'm a humble man," James told her in such a manner that Darla was certain he was not a humble man at all. "So, tell me, why the long face, sour-puss? First time away from home? Getting homesick already?"

Darla hated to admit that she was already homesick. She missed her house and her library. She missed spending hours upon hours reading through her father's books, or sipping coca in the kitchen. "It's my Daddy," she finally said, staring at the floor.

James smiled. "Ah, I see. You miss your father?"

"No," Darla said quickly. "It's just… I'm about 90% sure that my Daddy sent me here to get rid of me. I think he wants to forget about me."

James shrugged and reached forward to clap Darla on the shoulder. "I doubt that, Queenie," he said, making Darla cringe. "You seem far too snippy and loud for someone to forget about you."

For the first time since she had gotten on the train, Darla smiled. "You think so, Mister Potter?"

"I'm a good judge of character," James told her. "And don't call me 'Mister Potter'."

"Don't call me 'Queenie."

Again, James laughed. "Alright, alright. Darla and James, then." He sighed and glanced out the window. "So, what house do you want to be in?"

"Slytherin," Darla answered quickly.

James raised an eyebrow. "You don't act like a Slytherin. You act like a scared little girl."

Darla shrugged. "And you don't act like a Gryffindor, you act like an egotistical prat."

Darla expected James to get mad, usually insulting people made them angry. To her surprise, James simply smiled again. "I like you," he told her.

Darla didn't quite know what to make of this. She wasn't sure yet if she liked the boy or not, and she couldn't understand why he liked her. She hadn't been kind to her at all. In fact, she thought she had been quite rude to him. Maybe her father was right, maybe she did just have to be herself and she would make the right kind of friends. Or, at least, she wouldn't make too many enemies.

"Well, you might want to get changed into your robes," James told her.

"You'll have to leave."

James smirked. "Don't worry, I won't look."

Darla crossed her arms. "I'm not changing in front of you," she said. She might now have known much about people, but she knew she wasn't supposed to change in front of boys.

"You're a little pert," James told her as he stood up. "But, alright, I'll leave you alone." He walked to the door. "Come find me sometime, you're interesting."

James left and Darla pulled her bag out. James was strange, she decided. But, he wasn't strange in a terrible way. People were very confusing, Darla decided. Even if James was strange and confusing, Darla knew it would be a good idea to have an older student around. That, she decided, would help her if she got lost.

Darla changed clothes and stared out the window. It was nice to be left alone for a while. Thus far, Hogwarts didn't seem like it would be terrible.

The compartment door opened. Darla looked up, expecting to see that James had returned. Instead two identical boys around eleven years old stood in the doorway. They had very light blonde hair and large blue eyes that seemed almost too big for their faces. Both of them were already dressed in their Hogwarts robes.

"See, Lysander, I told you that if we just looked around then we'd find a place to sit.

The boy, Lysander, looked over at his brother before he looked down at his hand. "Lorcan, I think I got bit by something." He looked up to the ceiling and blinked several times. "Maybe it was that gnome that lives in the neighbour's garden. Its good luck to be bitten by a gnome, isn't it, Lorcan?"

Lorcan shrugged and looked like he was trying very hard not accuse his brother of being mad. "Yeah, sure, why not." He smiled very slightly and looked over at Darla. "Pardon my brother and me intruding, but would you mind if we were to join you in here? You seem rather alone and no one else would let us sit with them."

Darla understood perfectly why no one else wanted the twins to sit with them. However, she felt bad for the two of them standing alone. "Sure, why not," she said and offered them the seat across from her.

"Oh, there are several reasons why not," Lysander told her as he sat beside his brother. He was smiling broadly and his eyes were darting around the compartment as though following a bug. "Would you like me to list them for you?"

Before Lysander had the chance to list any of his reasons, Lorcan, thankfully, interrupted. "I'm Lorcan Scamander; this is my twin brother, Lysander. We're both just starting here this year." Lorcan seemed to be the sanest of the two.

"Darla Nott," she introduced herself. "I'm also just starting this year." She refrained from admitting that she was more than a little afraid.

"Oh, Darla Nott, that's an interesting name," Lysander interjected, still staring at the wall. "It's as though you're saying you're not Darla, which would be very odd since you are Darla." He paused and looked away from the wall and gave Darla a questioning look. "Do you have a middle name?"

It obvious to Darla that something was wrong with Lysander. She wasn't sure that a school was the best place for him. Maybe his own room in Saint Mungos would be better. "Yes, it's Queenie," she told him, a bit unsure of what he was getting at.

Lysander clapped his hands as though this was the best name anyone could ever have. "Excellent! I will call you that!"

Lorcan groaned and leaned back in his seat. "Ly, you can't just call someone by their middle name because you don't like their first name. Why don't you just call her Darla?"

If Lysander heard his brother he didn't act like it. He jumped up and grinned. "I think I saw a bug in the corridor," he exclaimed. "I must go and catch it!"

"Don't eat it," Lorcan called to his brother as Lysander ran from the compartment after his bug. "I'm sorry about my brother. He's a bit…well, he certainly is Lysander."

"That he is," Darla agreed and stared out the window. The light was starting to fade and she was certain that they had to be getting close to Hogwarts.

Lorcan stood up and sighed. "I should go check on him. Merlin only knows what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into now."

Darla nodded. It did seem like Lysander would be the type to accidentally get himself into some kind of trouble. Lorcan left and closed the compartment door and Darla tried to relax a little. Maybe she had been wrong before. Maybe Hogwarts would be absolutely terrible. Maybe she could write to her father and convince him to let her come home. Of course, she was thoroughly convinced that Theodore didn't want her there. Darla pressed her forehead against the window and groaned. She didn't know what to think anymore. There seemed to be good people, like James, but there also seemed to be insane people, like Lysander. Although, Lorcan didn't seem to bad.

The train started to slow down, and Darla was feeling quite sick. She stopped looking out the window, she didn't even want to see the castle. She wanted to see her house, the house she was used to, a place where she didn't have to worry about making friends, a place where she didn't have to avoid her cousin.

Then again, Darla thought, she couldn't back out. She couldn't be weak. She decided she would give it one week. She would stay at Hogwarts and test it out for one week. No more and no less

The train came to a stop and Darla glanced outside. The sky had turned dark and the stars were quite clear. Had Darla not felt so nauseous she might have thought it was pretty. Slowly, she gathered up her things and squeezed into the corridor. She was very nearly trampled, it seemed that everyone was bigger than she was and they all seemed to be in much more of a hurry.

Darla tried to keep up, but it was rather difficult. She was shoved out of the way by several people. It was like being caught in a storm.

Suddenly, there were hands on her shoulder. Darla squeaked and jumped a bit.

"C'mon, just walk forward."

Darla relaxed a bit, feeling quite thankful that James Potter had managed to find her. The again, no one else needed help, why should she?

"I can do it by myself," she told him. Darla tried to squirm away, but James kept a tight hold on her.

"You're small," he said, as though Darla might not have noticed. "You're likely to get crushed here."

Darla scowled. She did not like having to be helped on her first day. Still, she let James lead her off the train. They stepped out into the cool night air and Darla gasped.

She couldn't ignore the castle in front of her. Across a large lake, that looked black in the moonlight, was the school she had been dreading so much. It seemed to glow. The dark towers twisted up and Darla could have sworn she could touch the stars from the top tower. It was intimidating and made her feel very, very small. Darla might have thought that the castle was ominous, but there was something very inviting about it.

James clapped her on the shoulder. "Close your mouth, you're letting flies in."

Darla looked up at him. "There are no flies," she informed it.

"You are a strange one. Now, just go over there, you'll get in a boat, and then you'll get sorted."

"You're not coming," Darla asked, suddenly afraid. She didn't know what had made her think James would come with her, she was certain he had his own friends.

"Nah, kiddo, I've got to get to the carriages."

"There you are," a tall boy the colour of mocha said, running over to James. "Hoy, Potter, thought you'd gotten lost." His dark hair curled around his face and hi his eyes.

James shrugged and smiled again. Darla noticed that James was usually smiling. "Just doing my part to help a fellow student, Freddie."

The boy, Freddie, raised an eyebrow. "This is part of some great prank that you forgot to tell me about, isn't it?"

James shook his head. "Nope. Freddie, Darla, Darla, Freddie."

"'Ey kid," Freddie said sounding cheerful but still confused.

"Hello," Darla said, trying to sound polite.

Freddie grabbed James's shoulder. "C'mon, prat, let your new pet get in her boat. We've got people waiting to see us."

James ruffled Darla's hair. "See ya inside," he said before he left.

Darla sighed. Once again, she was alone. She didn't much like being James's 'pet', but she decided she could ponder what that meant later.

A rather gruff man that Darla quickly decided she didn't like directed her to a boat. It wasn't that the man wasn't kind, she just felt smaller than ever as he stood over her.

Darla sat down in a boat with a boy. The boy was a little chubby. He had curls of brown hair falling over his tanned face and he managed a small smile.

"Hullo," the boy said, his voice was softer than Darla had expected.

"Hello, ah!" The boat started moving and Darla jumped.

The boy giggled softly. "I take it you're from a muggle family," he said.

Darla crossed her arms and tried to look a bit more confident. "No, my family are purebloods. I just wasn't expecting the boat to start moving so suddenly," Darla told him, trying to justify herself.

The boy shrugged. "Just asking," he muttered and stared down into the water.

Darla looked down too. Maybe it hadn't been the light, maybe the lake actually was black. She stared at it, wondering if there was a bottom at all. Maybe there wasn't, maybe the lake just went forever and there was another lake exactly like it on the other side of the world.

"I'm Hugo," the boy said, breaking the silence. "My cousin, Lily, is over there," he said, pointing in some vague direction.

"Darla," Darla told him.

Everyone in the boats beside them seemed to be talking excitedly. Darla still didn't feel too excited and she didn't want to talk to a boy who had accused her of being a muggle-born.

"So," Hugo went on, grasping desperately for conversation. "What, uh, what house do you think you'll be sorted into?"

Darla sighed. "I really wish that people would stop asking me that."

Hugo shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'm hoping for Gryffindor. I mean, Ravenclaw would be alright too…maybe even Hufflepuff. 'Course, I'm not much of a finder."

Darla wanted to tell the boy to shut up, but she knew that would be rude. Scorpius had been right. She was no one here, she couldn't just tell people to stop talking. "Slytherin," Darla said, finally. "I'd like to be in Slytherin."

She had expected Hugo to be a bit put off by this. Instead, he shrugged. "Yeah, my cousin is in Slytherin, and he's not half bad. I mean, he can be moody sometimes, but he's alright."

Darla smiled a little. "My cousin is in Slytherin, and he's a complete bastard!" Darla paused. "What's your cousin's name?"

"Albus," Hugo told her. "Albus Potter."

Darla's eyes widened a bit. "Potter," she exclaimed. "His last name is Potter?"

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're a fan."

"No, it's just…" Darla paused. She wasn't sure if Potter was a common surname or not. "Does he have a brother or cousin or something? James Potter?"

Hugo stared at Darla. "Well, yeah," he said, as though this was supposed to be obvious. "James is Albus's older brother."

Darla brightened a little. Maybe she could make friends with James's little brother, maybe she wouldn't have too many enemies. "I met James on the train," she explained. "He was kind to me, which was odd because I wasn't terribly kind to him. But, he talked to me and he helped me off the train," she told him all this very quickly.

Hugo raised an eyebrow. "James actually took the time to help someone who wasn't directly related to him? What'd he say to scare you?"

Darla thought back. James hadn't told her anything that she thought would scare her at all. He had made a few jokes, but that wasn't something to be afraid of. "Nothing," she said. "He just talked to me a bit."

The boat docked itself and Darla and Hugo climbed out, cautiously.

"Well, that's weird," Hugo told her as they lined up. "James likes to prank people, so watch out."

Darla didn't have the chance to respond. They were led inside by an older woman. Her brown hair was up in a very tight bun and she didn't look like she had ever smiled. Darla decided she didn't like her much. The woman spoke harshly and hard a voice that screamed authority. Darla was reminded of a gargoyle.

"Wait quietly here," the woman told them. "I'll call you in to be sorted."

Darla groaned and put her hands in his pockets. She had never been good at waiting. She looked around the room. It was large with a high ceiling and marble flooring. The lights reflected off the gold in the walls.

"Alright, follow me," the woman said.

Darla fell in line with the rest of the first years and followed the woman into a much larger room. The room was lit by thousands of floating candles that Darla was sure were bewitched not to drip wax onto people's heads. Though, she thought it would be funny to see Scorpius get a glob on hot wax dropped on his head.

Darla was so busy focusing on the candles that she didn't notice the strange hat singing and was surprised by the applause that followed.

She shook her head and clapped along with everyone, trying to look like she had some idea as to what was going on.

The gargoyle woman stepped forward and pulled out a long roll of parchment. "Adams, Charles!"

Darla watched as a skinny blonde hair boy hurried across the room. He sat on the stool at the front, looking quite nervous. The hat was placed on his head, it slid down over his eyes. After a few minutes the hat shouted out "Ravenclaw." The whole room erupted into applause. The boy handed the hat back to the gargoyle woman and hurried over to the Ravenclaw table.

After 'Corner, Justin' was sorted into Hufflepuff, Darla stopped listening. The sorting wasn't interesting to her, so she wasn't going to take the time or the effort to pay attention. Instead she scanned the halls. She looked first over at the Slytherin table. Scorpius was sitting up perfectly straight, watching the sorting ceremony with rapt attention. Darla looked past the Slytherin table and looked over at the Gryffindors. It took her a moment to spot James, he was sitting beside Freddie (who was much easier to spot) and some dark haired girl that Darla hadn't had the misfortune of meeting. James was not nearly as interested in the sorting ceremony as other people were. He, Freddie, and the girl were all leaning over a piece of parchment. James was making quick notes on it.

"Nott, Darla!"

Darla jumped a bit. She hadn't expected her name to be called so soon. Suddenly she wished she had paid a bit more attention, she had only a vague idea of what she was supposed to do. She knew she had to go sit on a stool and have a hat put on her head, but aside from that she felt clueless. With her heart beating quick, Darla took a deep breath and walked across the room, feeling very much like she was heading straight for the guillotine.

Taking a deep breath, Darla sat down on the stool and folded her hands in her lap. She looked up at the Gargoyle woman, hoping she would tell her what to do. The woman didn't say anything, but placed the hat over Darla's head.

Everything went black even though Darla had her eyes open.

_You're an intelligent girl, aren't you?_ Darla heard the voice clearly, though she felt like it was speaking directly into her mind. _Perhaps Ravenclaw would be a good place for you._

_ Yes, Ravenclaw, _Darla thought. _The people who practically murder each other to get to the top? _

_ Ah yes, but don't you have ambition?_

Darla rolled her eyes. _I don't care too much about grades. Maybe I'm smart, but I don't care that much._

_ I see,_ The Voice mused. _You do resemble a Gryffindor, though. You're strong willed, intelligent, and you're stronger than you realize. You would make an excellent Slytherin or a Gryffindor. Where do you think you belong?_

_ Slytherin, _Darla said, not taking a moment to think about it. _My mother and Father were both in Slytherin. Like you said, I have ambition and you said I was intelligent. Both of those are Slytherin traits, yes?_

_ Hmm, you are also a bit shrewd, aren't you, _The Voice asked her, gruffly.

Darla smiled a bit. _Well, can we get this over with? I'm getting hungry._

_ Impatience will get you nowhere, _The Voice told her.

"Slytherin," a clear voice said.

The hat was removed from her head and Darla, feeling a bit dizzy, stood up. There was a bit of clapping, but not nearly as much as there had been after the hat had sung its song. Holding her head high, Darla sauntered over to the Slytherin table, making sure she was as far away from her cousin as she could get.

She ended up sitting beside a fourth year boy with neatly trimmed dark hair, coal black eyes, and a very hard face. He looked down at Darla, offered her something that might have been a smile, and introduced himself as Erick Flint.

Darla did not smile back at him. She put her hands in her lap and stared forward. She did introduce herself as Darla Nott, but she made sure she sounded like she didn't care at all.

"Nott," Erick whispered as the hat sorted Potter, Lily into Gryffindor. "Theodore Nott's daughter?"

Darla sighed and glanced over at Erick. "Yes, yes I am. Why?" Darla brightened a little. "Do you hate my father, too?" She was only half paying attention as she was watching Lysander and Lorcan get sorted into Ravenclaw.

Erick raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't hate him. Why would I hate him?"

"I hate him," Darla said and shrugged. "He's a magnificent bastard. Not, of course, that I'd expect you to know that, you don't have to live with him."

Erick seemed a bit uncomfortable. He looked at Darla as though she were the most insulting people he had ever met. "You shouldn't talk about your father like that, it's disrespectful."

Again, Darla shrugged. "Well, it's rude to meddle in other people's affairs, Mister Flint, so why don't you leave my family to me?"

Erick looked away from Darla and instead started whispering something to the boy beside him. Darla had no doubt in her mind that they were talking ill of her, but she ignored it.

After Weasley, Hugo was sorted into Ravenclaw the hall fell silent. Darla felt slightly ill as she watched Hugo walk over to the table; the Ravenclaws clapped and congratulated him. Darla noticed Hugo look over his shoulder at the Gryffindor table and wave sadly.

"Alright," The Gargoyle woman said as she folded up her paper. "That will conclude the sorting ceremony. Now, before we begin with the feast I'd like to go over a few of the school rules."

Darla zoned out during that. She didn't care what rules there were, she knew that if she did know them then she would go out of her way to break them. So, Darla just stared blankly at the wall, trying to remember the ingredients to 'Draught of the Living dead'. She remembered she had to squeeze the juice from sopophorous beans, but she couldn't remember what she was supposed to infuse with wormwood. Asphodel, maybe? Then, what was she supposed to so with the valerian roots?

"Now, let the feast begin."

Darla snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at the table. Food began to appear on the golden plates, but Darla didn't feel hungry anymore. She was starting to feel rather ill. She poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice and put a bit of food on her plate. She wasn't planning on eating, but she thought it would be rude not to at least get part of a meal. She remembered at her house Theodore sometimes forgot that meals were supposed to happen. He would go to his study and work for a while, sometime Darla didn't see him for days. She didn't get hungry easily, she was used to skipping meals.

Darla sat in silence, feeling awkward as everyone around her became engaged in conversation. Darla caught a few fragments of their conversations. A fifth year girl across the table thought that someone named Mars Zabini was attractive. Erick was sure that Quidditch was going to be wonderful and he didn't think that there would be too much rain at the start of the season. To put it simply, Darla was bored. No one seemed to have anything interesting to say. A part of her wanted to go over to the Ravenclaw table, even listening to the two bizarre twins would be better. She glanced over, a few of the Ravenclaws had scooted away from the boys, but Lysander was happily examining a grape.

Dinner seemed to go on for far too long. Darla poked at her chicken with her fork and moved some potatoes around on her plate. Was everyone at Hogwarts this uninteresting? Darla would have loved to have gone to the common room, but she had no idea where it was. Not knowing something made her feel quite small. Small and a bit pathetic.

Finally, Miss Gargoyle, as Darla had named her, dismissed them, but not before reminding them all to obey the rules. Darla moved quickly away from the table, she was ready to get away from everything and into the comfort of her bed.

"Alright, follow me," A tall dark boy said.

Darla didn't get a good look at him, all she knew was the he was a Slytherin and he knew where they were supposed to go.

"Hey, Darla!"

James Potter clapped Darla on the back as he walked past her. "Congrats on getting into the house you wanted," he told her.

Darla wanted to talk to him, she thought he would have something interesting to say. He did seem like an interesting boy. Before she got the chance to say anything, James had mixed in with the crowd walking in the opposite direction.

"What was that," a boy asked her.

Darla shrugged. "That was James Potter," she explained as she walked with the boy out of the great hall. "He's sort of my friend. Well, we talked on the train anyway, and he helped me out a bit. I think he's my friend."

"Well, good for you," the boy said, quite sarcastically. "My brother has decided to make a pet out of you."

Darla looked over at the boy, she could see the resemblance between the boys. Both of them had messy black hair and light skin. The only difference Darla could see was that Albus had bright green eyes.

"You're Albus," she said, sounding a bit too happy. She hadn't known if she would find him or how she was supposed to start talking to him. She was thankful that he had started the conversation.

Albus nodded. "Yeah, Al, don't call me 'Albus'. Only my mother can call me Albus."

Darla smiled and made a mental note of that. "Oh, okay. Yes, Hugo mentioned you to me. He said you weren't a complete bastard."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be?"

Darla was going to tell him about how her cousin was a complete bastard and she though most people in Slytherin would be. Unfortunately, the complete bastard himself showed up before she had the chance.

Scorpius smirked and put his hand on Al's shoulder. "If you respect your reputation at all, Al, you should probably just walk away from my cousin."

Darla puffed her chest out and put her hands on her hips. "Scorpius, dear," she said, feeling much braver than she had on the train. "I didn't know that you were in charge of whom people could talk to and whom they couldn't."

Scorpius reached over and swatted the back of Darla's head. "Be quiet," he ordered. "I think that's the best thing you can do at this point. Just shut up and listen to people older than you."

"Well, Scorpius—"

"Wow, what wonderful family bonding," Al said, quite bored. "As much fun as this has been…it's not fun. C'mon, Scorpius, I really don't think a fight is a good way to start off the year."

Scorpius shrugged. "Yeah, I'd like to catch up with Flint, anyway." He looked back over to Darla. "Hey, Darling?"

Darla sighed and looked down at the floor. "What?"

Scorpius smirked and faked jumping at her. Darla shrieked and jumped back, nearly hitting a fifth year girl. Scorpius smiled and left with Al.

Darla was thrilled when they finally left. She followed the rest of the Slytherins down into the dungeons and through a secret entrance behind a tapestry. She was too tired to look around the common room. Besides that, she didn't want to be near her cousin or anyone else.

The Head Boy who had led them to the common room—Darla learned this was Mars Zabini, though she didn't find his flat nose or high forehead attractive—explained where the dormitories were and told them the password was 'levisticum'.

As soon as Darla knew where to go she went. She headed up the left staircase and found a red oak door that said 'first years'. She went in and walked down past the other four beds. She chose the bed furthest away from the door and collapsed on the green comforter. She pulled the dark green curtains closed, pulled a silver embodied pillow close to her chest.

She lay there for a few minutes, trying to figure out if today had been good or not. Finally, Darla crawled out of bed, grabbed a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink and her quill. She laid on her bed and made a list of pros and cons.

_Cons: Scorpius still exists. Everyone is boring and probably stupid. No one is going to be bringing me coca. The Gargoyle. Complicated staircases and a completely idiotic layout. I'm going to get lost. I have to deal with people._

_Pros: James Potter. Daddy isn't here. I can be alone sometimes. James Potter is kind to me. People actually remember that food happens. James Potter went out of his way to help me. I get to be away from home._

Darla looked at her list and sighed. She couldn't tell if the pros outweighed the cons or not. Darla folded her parchment up and put it under her pillow, deciding that she would add to it over the course of the next week.

Before anyone else ventured upstairs, Darla changed into her pyjamas. She dug through her trunk until she found a small stuffed animal. It was a horribly battered stuffed owl, his wings were held on with very thin string and one of his eyes had been long lost. The poor thing had lost plenty of his stuffing and he was bare of feathers in several places. "Well, we're here now, Prowly," she said to the owl and sighed deeply. "I suppose we had better get used to it, right?" Darla held Prowly close to her chest and climbed under the comforter. She fell asleep faster than she expected.


	2. Chapter 2

When Darla woke up she thought everything had been a dream. Surely she was going to wake up in her own bed and she'd laugh about the crazy dream she had. Darla sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Sadly, she was not in her bed. She could hear the high pitched laughter of young girls, and she knew that her father wasn't going to let anymore children into his home.

Darla pulled back the curtain on her bed and stared out. "What in God's name has you all so loud and chipper at such an early hour," she snapped. Her voice had muddled by sleep and it took her a few seconds to adjust her eyes to the sunlight.

There were four girls sitting on one bed, all still in their pyjamas. Darla had not yet had the misfortune of getting to know them.

A chubby blonde girl with pigtails sneered and looked over at Darla. "Well, aren't you just Miss moody. Are you always going to be this moody?"

"I just woke up, of course I'm moody," Darla said, defensively. "But yes, I am always this moody. Best get used to it."

"Then maybe you just shouldn't talk," said a tall thin brunette.

"Prima's right," the chubby blonde girl said.

Darla crossed her arms and got out of bed. "Fine, whatever, I really don't care."

Darla listened to them talk as she got ready for class. She learned the chubby blonde girl was Cassia Bole, the brunette was Prima Pucey, there was a dark haired girl barely taller than Darla called Avita Derrick, and the last girl was a very quiet blonde named Galla Higgs. Darla decided that she didn't like any of them.

Darla got dressed quickly, she had a bit of trouble tying her tie. She had never had to tie a tie before and she wasn't sure how to do it. Of course, she wasn't going to ask any of the other girls for help.

Since she had a little extra time, Darla put a stack of her favourite books beside her bed and left the rest in her trunk. She knew that there wouldn't be enough room for all of them in her little corner of the room. Books took up most of the space in her trunk. Several of them had worn pages from being read so many times. 'The mighty adventures of Hilda the Hag' was one of her personal favourites and the condition of the cover showed that. She loved reading about Hilda, who was once a princess but had been dethroned by her younger sister, Helga. Hilda had been forced to live on the streets, which for anyone else Darla knew would be difficult, but Hilda the Hag could do anything. Then there were books with glossy new covers that she had picked up that looked interesting. 'The Vampire of Manchester and the London Forker' sat shiny and new at the top of her trunk. It had seemed like an interesting story, a vampire who befriended a young forker. Darla was more than excited to get started on the book. Then there were books with leather covers she had stolen from her father's study. The weren't about vampires or forkers or princesses or hags, but they were about the principal idea behind magic. Simply study books for Darla.

Darla decided to leave most of her personal things in her trunk until she was sure she was staying. While the other girls got dressed and did their hair, Darla hurried downstairs. That was one of the plus sides of having short hair; she didn't have to fool with it too much.

Darla hurried through the common room and wandered out through the corridor. She was fairly sure she could find her way to the great hall, she hadn't been paying too much attention the night before.

Somehow, she managed to find the Great Hall again. Feeling rather proud of herself, Darla took her seat at the end of the Slytherin table. She grabbed a piece of toast and poured herself a glass of orange juice. Oddly, she was excited for classes to start up. First she had potions, she had confidence that she would be good at potions. She had read through several of her father's potions books, though she had very little experience with the practical part of the class. Afterwards she had charms, something she was a little less confident in. She understood the principal idea of it, she just wasn't sure about how well she would do with her wand. Defense Against the Dark Arts was her last class, and the one she was dreading the most. From what she had read in her father's books, the dark arts were terrifying. She had seen pictures of people in horrible pain, people whose insides had become their outsides, and people transforming into other things. The pictures weren't nearly as scary as they things she had read. She recalled a story about a man who lost his mind and had ended up cutting off his hands.

Darla shuttered and pushed her toast away, she wasn't feeling terribly hungry anymore.

After glancing around the Great Hall, Darla spotted a familiar face. Abandoning her breakfast, Darla nearly skipped across the hall. James was sitting with Freddie, both of them looked tired, their shirts were wrinkle and untucked and their ties were loose. They were leaning over a piece of parchment, talking quietly.

"Good morning," Darla said with as much cheer as she could muster.

James looked up and managed a smile. "Well, good morning, Darla."

Freddie didn't look nearly as happy to see her. He glanced up, rolled his eyes and started making notes on the parchment.

"Darla," James said. "Come here, your tie is completely wrong, let me fix it."

Darla looked down at her tie. She had been worried that it wasn't right, and all she had really done was tie it in a small knot that looked sort of right.

"Do you really have to help the child dress herself," Freddie asked, smirking a bit.

James grabbed Darla's arm and pulled her close to him. "She can't tie a tie. So, yes, I do have to help her," James explained as he unknotted Darla's tie and started retying it.

"You could teach me how to tie it," Darla said as she watched James. "Then I could tie it myself and I wouldn't have to bother you."

"I could," James said as he pulled Darla's tie tight. "But then you'd know and you'd have no reason to come over here. There you go, all ready for the day."

Darla smiled slightly and glanced over at the Slytherin table. Scorpius and Albus had sat down for breakfast. They didn't seem to notice Darla and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Um, James," Darla said, nervously. "Can I sit here with you?" She had never been nervous about asking her father or her uncle for something, but James was new and she didn't know if they were really friends or not.

Freddie looked up and raised an eyebrow. "No, you have your own table. Besides, James and I are working on something. Something that you really don't need to know about."

Darla shifted nervously and nodded. "Okay then."

James shook his head and pulled out the seat beside him. "Don't listen to Freddie, he's just being a bit paranoid. Sit down."

"James," Freddie hissed.

"C'mon, Freddie, maybe the girl will learn a thing or two."

Freddie might not have been happy with the arrangements, but Darla was absolutely thrilled. She sat down beside James and stayed as quiet as she could. Freddie and James went back to whatever they were working on and Darla listened to them talk.

"No," Freddie said. "If we start in the dungeons we're bound to be caught by Bane."

"Unless we do it during dinner," James explained. "You know that Bane isn't going to miss dinner, he never does."

Freddie shook his head. "I am not missing dinner."

"We can sneak into the kitchens after dinner, Freddie."

"If we started on the third floor corridor—"

"We'd get caught by Professor Longbottom before we even had the chance to pull our wands out," James said, wearily. "The dungeons are the safest place to start, trust me on this. Who has gotten away with more pranks in the last four years?"

Freddie sighed, admitting defeat. "Fine, but lets at least try not to get caught and lets not do it during dinner."

James smiled and glanced over at Darla. "We'll be fine. We could get someone to keep an eye out."

"Your brother isn't going to help us," Freddie reminded him. "I'm not getting Hugo or Lily involved, and Rose doesn't want to get into any trouble right now, I know that Roxy won't be any good, and, lord, Louis and Lucy are too good to get involved in a prank. But, I think that Marcus Corner might have forgiven us for the dungbomb last year, we could ask him…."

"Well, I actually had another plan," James said and nodded toward Darla.

Freddie's face went bright red. "No," he said, firmly. "I'm letting her sit with us but she's not helping us pull off a prank."

"Hear me out, Freddie. Darla is small, she could easily hide in the corridor and keep an eye out for anyone. She's new, so she could say she was lost. And, she's a Slytherin, so she actually has a reason to be in the dungeons after classes."

Darla listened to James and thought he should have asked her if she wanted to help him out before he convinced Freddie that it was a good idea. She cleared her throat as though to remind them that she was still there.

"Besides," James went on. "She doesn't seem to like the type to nark. You wouldn't do that to me, would you, Darla," James asked, turning his attention to her. He batted his eyelashes and put on a sickening sort of puppy-dog face.

Darla wasn't going to peach on anyone, she didn't see the point in that. "I don't even know what you're doing," she said. Though she'd been listening she had no idea what was going on.

"All the better," Freddie said. "Look, lets just leave this where it is. We'll figure something out, James."

James shrugged. "I've got it figured out, you just don't want to work with me."

"No, James, I want to work with you, I just don't want to work with _her._"

Darla pushed her chair back and grabbed her bag off the floor. "I'm going to class. Thank you very much James for letting me sit here."

James smiled and ruffled Darla's hair, making her cringe a bit. "No problem kid. I might need you later."

"Well, I'm very easy to spot. I'll be the short person getting stepped on. So, if you need me, find me," she said. She didn't know what they were planning, but it sounded like deliberate rule breaking, which was sounded like fun to her. "Freddie….you're a dogmatist," she said, sweetly, before turning on her heel and heading for potions.

"Did she call me a 'dog masochist'," she heard Freddie ask as she left.

Darla smiled to herself as she walked out of the Great Hall. It seemed that James was fond of her, even if Freddie hated her. It didn't really bother Darla much that Freddie hated her, she figured that he only hated her because she was in Slytherin, and the seemed like a stupid reason to hate someone. So, she labelled Freddie as being ignorant and went on.

It occurred to Darla that she had no clue where her classroom was. She paused and looked around the corridor, hoping to spot someone that would help her. No one else was in the corridor with her and, again, Darla felt lost an a bit pathetic.

She wandered around for a few minutes, knowing that she was going to be late on her first day. She knew that potions was taught by Professor Bane, and, from what she had overheard from listening to James, Professor Bane was likely to be found somewhere in the dungeons.

After several minutes of mindless searching, Darla leaned against a wall, feeling perfectly ready to just give up.

"She looks lost," a woman said.

"Oh yes, terribly lost," another woman said.

"Oh, well, maybe we could point her in the right direction," said yet another.

Darla turned around and, instead of seeing actually people, she saw four women drinking tea in a painting.

Brightening a little, Darla managed a small smile. "Oh, hello," she said, politely. "I was looking for my potions class…I seem to have gotten myself a bit, um, turned around. Not lost, exactly, just a little mixed up."

The women smiled.

"You look too young to be in school already," said a woman with a thick German accent.

"Oh yes, quite young indeed. Too young," the others agreed.

Darla sighed, she was quite used to people thinking she was younger than she was. "I'm eleven," she told them, trying not to sound offended.

Finally, Darla got directions from the women. She turned around, went through the correct corridor and down a set of steps. As quietly as she could, Darla slipped into the classroom.

The room was decorated quite unlike any other classroom. Even with the glass jars of newt eyes and slippery looking creatures floating in clear and sticky looking substances, the room was surprising inviting. A warm fire burned in the fireplace in the back of the classroom, and Professor Bane stared at her when she walked in. He was a young man, no older than thirty. He had short black hair, a very thin and pointed face, and bright blue eyes that were half hidden behind his thick glasses. He was sitting behind his desk, half hidden behind a stack of papers and a turning hourglass.

"Miss Nott," he said as Darla walked in. "You're late."

Darla nodded. "I know, sir," she told him, not wanting to admit that she got lost.

Bane nodded, as though he understood that she had gotten herself lost without her having to tell him. "Well, I'll let you off this one time, just don't let it happen again."

"I won't," Darla promised.

"Well, take a seat, please."

Darla looked around. The girls she shared a dorm room with were sitting together, and Darla certainly didn't want to sit near them. She ended up sliding into a seat next to a tall boy with overgrown brown hair. As soon as she sat down the boy scooted away from her a bit.

"As I was saying," Bane said, resuming teaching. "Before we begin working on our potions we need to understand what it is we're trying to do." He stood up from behind his desk. He was short, not overly short, but shorter than average and he was so thin that his black robes seemed to swallow him.

Darla straightened up a bit, ready to redeem herself for being late.

"Now, you can tell me about a boil cure potion?"

Instantly, Darla's hand went into the air. She looked around and realized that she was the only one.

"Yes, Miss Nott."

Nervously, Darla lowered her hand and cleared her throat. "If made correctly then it will, as the name implies, cures boils."

Bane nodded. "Very good, and what happens if the potion is made incorrectly?"

"If the potion is brewed incorrectly then it will become extremely hot, produce a strong, foul smell, and it will cause boils instead of cure them," she said confidently, as though she were reading straight from the book.

Bane smiled down at her. "Very good. Miss Nott is correct, you have to be very careful when working with potions, otherwise they could go terribly wrong."

Darla beamed. For once she was thankful that her father didn't pay much attention and she could steal his books without him noticing.

Bane went on to explain the potion they were going to create. Darla listened, ignoring people glaring at her.

"Now then," Bane said, clapping his hands together. "I have one rule, kiddies." The smile faded from his face and he slammed his hands down on his desk. Several students, Darla included, jumped back. A Gryffindor boy actually fell out of his seat. "Nothing explodes. Understand? If something does explode then I'll be very, very unhappy, and you don't want to make me unhappy." He smiled again as though his outburst had never happened. "Alright, time to get started!"

When the time came to actually make the potion, Darla kept her book shut. She crushed her six snake fangs in the mortar and added four measures to her cauldron before heating her cauldron.

"You're such a little show off," the boy beside her muttered.

Darla stirred her cauldron and looked over at him. "I am not."

The boy rolled his eyes before staring at back at his book, sweat dripping from his forehead. "You don't even open your book. You're not that smart, Nott."

Darla might have laughed. By using her last the name the boy had made a double negative, therefore saying she was smart. Darla decided not to point this out. Instead, she added her horned slugs and stirred her potion. When the potion started to turn a light blue, Darla took it off the heat.

She glanced over at the other boy's potion. "You have your potion too hot," she noted. "It's not going to cool down properly."

The boy sneered. "Why don't you focus on your own potion and leave mine alone?"

Darla shrugged. She scooted closer to the end of the table, just in case. She added her porcupine quills and stirred the potion five times. It turned a very pretty shade of blue and Darla admired it before raising her hands.

"Professor," she said, trying to get Bane's attention. "I think I've got it."

Professor Bane hurried over and checked her potion. He stirred it once and smiled. "Very good, Miss Nott. Have you brewed potions before?"

Darla shook her head. "No, but my Daddy, Theodore Nott, has a lot of books on the subject. He thinks education is very important and he taught me all about potions," she lied. The lie was much nicer than the truth.

"Ah, well, you must have very good genes then." Professor Bane paused and thought for a moment. "We might look into that later. I've always wanted to examine someone's genes."

Darla wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but even if he was she didn't find it funny. It sounded like Professor Bane wanted to cut right into her.

"I'll award ten points to Slytherin. Five for your answers and five for a well completed potion."

Darla smiled. "Thank you, sir. Um, could you do me one favour?"

"And what would that be?"

Darla pointed to the boy next to her. "He's about to add porcupine quills to his potion and it's far too hot, can you stop him? He won't listen to me."

Bane nodded. "I'll make sure Mister Goyle is alright," Bane promised and moved along.

Darla cleaned up and spent the rest of class working on her essay about the boil cure potion. She hurried to pack her things when the bell rang. She decided it would be best to follow the other Slytherins to charms class so she didn't get lost again.

Nero Goyle caught up with Darla as soon as they were out of class. "You told Bane my potion was wrong," he snapped.

Darla sighed. "It was wrong. The thing might have exploded and, as strange as this may seem, I don't want to be covered in boils right now. You wouldn't listen to me, I thought, maybe, you would listen to Professor Bane."

Goyle shoved Darla into the wall, hard enough that she was certain there would be a bruise on her cheek later.

"Ow," she cried and rubbed her cheek. "What was that for?"

"For being a know-it-all little prat," Goyle said. "Mind you own business from now on," he warned before he stormed to charms.

Darla followed at a safe distance. She didn't understand why Goyle was so angry with her. She had caused him not to get covered in boils, if anything, Darla thought, he should thank her. Darla was thoroughly confused.

Charms didn't help her confusion much. She wasn't terrible at it, but she quickly learned that it was not going to be her best subject. Darla had taken more notes that she thought was possible and her hand was cramping up terribly by the time lunch rolled around. There was one other thing about Charms class that she both loved and hated. She had it with the Ravenclaws. Originally, she had tried to sit beside the Hugo boy she had met on the train, but she ended up sitting by Lysander and Lorcan. Lysander proved to be quite good at Charms, it was almost scary. Luckily, Lorcan seemed to struggle with it almost as much as Darla did.

Darla sat down, alone, at the Slytherin table. She could think of several reasons why no one would want to talk to her. Scorpius was one. She had no doubts that he had told people nasty things about her. Goyle was another. It seemed that the story of potions class had already circulated, of course, it had been changed. From what Darla understood, it had been her fault that Goyle had messed up in the first place, though she wasn't entirely sure how. No one seemed to notice the green and yellow bruise on her cheek, either.

Apparently, earning ten points for Slytherin wasn't enough to earn her any friends. Darla rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. This was going to be the longest week ever. She decided she would write home to her father that night and tell him she was coming home. She hadn't wanted friends at first, but seeing everyone else talking and laughing together had made her feel incredibly lonely.

Someone tapped Darla on the shoulder. She squeaked, jumped a bit, and turned around.

"You're a bit jumpy today," James said, offering Darla a lopsided smile.

Darla did not smile back.

"C'mon, kid," he said and he grabbed Darla by the arm. "No reason for you to sit alone and pout. Besides, I've got Freddie convinced to let you in on our plan."

"I really want to be alone right now," Darla said. She had a lot to think about, like Charms and trying to figure out why is was so bad to tell someone that they were wrong.

"So, you want to sit at a table where everyone is glaring at you?" James raised an eyebrow and looked over the Slytherin table.

Darla sighed. "I want to think, and I don't really care about what people think." She paused. "Well, actually I do. People are strange, James."

"Yep, they are. Now come on, maybe sometime I can explain why people are so weird."

Darla reached down and grabbed her bag off the floor. James was right, she didn't want to sit at a table where people hated her. She followed James over to the Gryffindor table and sat beside him.

"Again, James, really," Freddie groaned.

James shrugged and filled his plate up with shepherds pie. "Yes, again, Freddie. Everyone hates her over there, no reason to let her drown."

Darla raised an eyebrow. "There was no water…."

James laughed and ruffled her hair. "Besides, I love this kid. She doesn't understand so many things, and she's so darn cute."

Freddie didn't laugh. He rolled his eyes and sat his bag on the table. "Cute is one word for it. Don't you think that bringing her over here is just going to make people hate her more? I mean, she is a Slytherin, James."

"So is my brother, and he's alright," James reminded him. "You don't hate Al, do you Freddie?"

"Of course I don't hate Al," Freddie said, a bit too defensively. "But, why don't we have her and Al be friends? Then we can continue what we're doing and not have to worry about what she's doing."

Darla poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Albus is friends with my cousin, Scorpius, I doubt he would want to speak to me, much less be my friend," she explained, trying to sound casual.

"I never liked that Malfoy kid," Freddie said through a mouth full of potatoes.

"Well, there, now you and Darla have something in common," James said, sounding exasperated. "Now, can we please go over the plan before lunch is over?"

Freddie sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment. "Fine, just explain to Darla over there what she needs to do. I don't think she needs to know the whole plan."

"Right," James said. He turned to face Darla. "We're having a big start of the year prank," he explained. "I can't tell you exactly what it is, just know that it'll be good. Now, all we're going to need you to do is watch the corridor for us. If anyone comes, distract them, and if you can't distract them then just call me. That way we'll know to get out of there before we get caught. Got it?"

Darla nodded. It seemed simple enough. Distract a teacher passing by and then see the results of James and Freddie's prank. "When?"

"Let me see your schedule," Freddie said.

Darla reached into her bag and handed Freddie her schedule.

He looked it over, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow. "Well, we won't do it today. James and I both have several classes this afternoon. But, we're both free tomorrow afternoon and all you have is History of Magic. We're going to need you to get down to the dungeons as soon as class is over."

Darla brushed her hair back. "Alright…um, how do I get from History of Magic to the dungeons?"

James laughed. "How about I come and get you from your classroom and take you to your spot. Would that help?"

A little ashamed, Darla nodded. She wasn't good with directions, she knew that she would get lost and would be late.

"Oh, and where's the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at," She asked, looking back down at her schedule. "I have that class next and I really don't want to be late."

"It's near the Transfigurations classroom," James explained, as though that was any help at all. "Don't worry, Freddie and I will show you, we're heading for Transfigurations anyway, so don't fret."

Darla brightened a little, she certainly was feeling better. Her day was no longer absolutely terrible. She now had amazing plans to help James and Freddie break several school rules and she wasn't going to get lost.

"C'mon, Freddie, lets head on to class and get Darla here to her class. I think that Frangos will murder us if we're late on the first day."

"Frangos," Darla asked. She wasn't quite familiar with the teachers yet.

"Yeah," James said. "Amazing woman, really, bit of a jerk, though. She hates it when people are late to her classes."

Darla pushed her hair back. "Oh, sounds delightful. I've already been late to Professor Bane's class."

"Bane is easy. He's one of the cooler teachers around." James smiled and stood up. "Well, be careful not to get on the wrong side of Frangos. She can get nasty."

"Understandable," Draco said as she followed close to James.

She felt much safer walking through the halls, sandwiched between James and Freddie. No one was stepping on her or telling her to move out of the way. It was nice.

James looked down and bushed Darla's cheek with his thumb. "What happened here?"

Darla shrugged. "A wall happened." It wasn't a lie, she had hit a wall. She thought it was easier not to tell James that she had been pushed into the wall.

"Well, don't fall into anymore walls," he said before stopping. "And, this is your classroom."

Darla smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"C'mon James, I don't feel like being murdered today."

The two bid Darla farewell and Darla slipped into the classroom. No one else had arrived yet, so Darla didn't have to sit awkwardly beside someone she hated. She chose a seat in the front centre and pulled out her book, parchment, quill, and her ink. She was sure that her professor wouldn't start with any of the horrible things that Darla had seen in her father's books. Or, at least, she hoped not.

The room was dimly lit and shadows danced on the wall. The high windows provided most of the light in the room. Books lined most of the walls, old leather bound books and new books with glossy bindings were arranged neatly on the shelves. Several odd and shiny trinkets sat on top of the shelves. Turning golden hourglasses, telescopes, and statues of dragons were just a few of the things Darla noticed.

A man walked in dressed in deep black robes. He was tall, very thin, and, as Darla noticed, quite handsome. He had nice high cheekbones, light blue eyes, flawless olive skin and a bright smile. He had his black hair pulled into a short ponytail that curled just at the base of his neck.

"Well, I didn't expect anyone to be here, I do hope I'm not running late," he said as he sat his leather briefcase on his desk in the front of the room. "Although, if this is everyone then I suppose my job will be much, much easier."

"Rather unfortunately, there are more coming," Darla told him.

The man smiled at her and opened his briefcase. "Alright, well, which one are you?"

"Nott."

"Not who?"

Darla sighed, she supposed she would get used to people making jokes about her last name. "Darla."

"Oh, so you're not Darla," the man asked, smiling.

Darla couldn't helped but smile back. "I'm not Darla Nott."

"So you're not Darla Nott? I guess that means you are Darla Nott….not. I hope I'm not confusing you, now."

"No," Darla said, shaking her head. "It takes a lot to confuse me. If you really want to confuse me then just stick me in a Charms class. That seems to work pretty well."

"You'll catch onto charms soon enough," he promised her. "Well, I'm Professor Cassius Amicussio, but you'll learn all that soon enough."

The rest of the students filed into the room, all talking excitedly and all of them taking seats rather far away from Darla. Darla didn't mind, she wanted to be able to focus and if someone sat to close to her then they might talk and she might become distracted.

Professor Amicussio greeted everyone and checked their names off his roster before diving into the lesson.

"I realize," he started. "That a lot of people don't think it's important to know how to defend themselves from the dark arts. A lot of people think that because most of the more famous dark wizards and witches are in Azkaban there's really no reason to learn how to defend ourselves. Can anyone tell me why it's still important? Yes, you, in the back. What's you name?"

A thin boy with messy brown hair lowered his hand. "Cato Bole…."

"Well, Mister Bole, why do you still need to defend ourselves from the dark arts?"

"Well," Cato said. "Even though a lot of the dark wizards and witches are in jail, uh, aren't there still more out there?"

Professor Amicussio nodded. "That's a very good point, Mister Bole. There will always be the threat of danger lurking around. You never know if someone is going to use dark magic or not. I can tell you this, dark witches and wizards don't usually wear signs that say 'I'm evil'."

A few people laughed.

"Any other reasons why it's important to learn the how to defend yourself from the dark arts?"

A little sheepishly, Darla raised her hand.

"Yes, Not Nott."

Darla blushed and looked down. "Because 'the dark arts' covers more than just magic. Some people, like werewolves or vampires, can't help what they are, and we still need to learn how to defend ourselves from them. It's the same with faeries, pixies, and other magical creatures. They may not have chosen to be evil, but they're still dangerous and we need to learn to protect ourselves."

"Very good," Professor Amicussio said, making Darla blush again. "And that is exactly where we'll be starting our lesson today. We'll learn about the dangerous, but not truly evil, creatures that we live with."

Professor Amicussio did not start talking about werewolves or vampires, but he did go over the different types of fairies. Prima Pucey was very disappointed to discover that faeries were not cute little fluttering people. Rather, faeries could be very tall and very manipulative, depending on the particular species of faerie. Some fairies could turn into monstrous black cats, others tricked travelers into eating faerie food, enslaving the humans to the faeries. Professor Amicussio didn't refer to them as 'faeries', he called them 'fair folk'. Apparently, faeries hated it when humans talked unkindly about them.

The bell rang and Darla packed up her things. She actually wished that class had gone on longer. Sure, her hand was cramping from taking so many notes, but she had enjoyed class. She hurried out of class, hoping to catch James on his way out of class, she planned to ask him where the library was. She wanted to study up some more on faeries.

James had to hurry to his next class. Since Freddie had a free period, he convinced him to take Darla.

"They should really give maps out," Darla muttered as she followed Freddie. It was difficult to keep up with him, he was much taller and for every step he took Darla had to take two.

Freddie shrugged. "You'll learn the layout soon enough," he assured her.

"I hope so."

The two were silent for a while. Darla didn't mind, she was used to silence. She smiled to herself, thinking about all the things she could learn before dinner.

"Look," Freddie said as they turned down another corridor. "I'm only doing this as a favour to James, don't think it means I like you or anything. As a general rule Snakes and Lions don't get along. James may make a lot of exceptions but I really don't. So, don't start thinking we're friends or anything."

Darla sighed. She hadn't thought that they were friends, but Freddie's speech bothered her terribly. "Bigot," she muttered, her smile falling.

"What?"

"You're a bigot, a dogmatist, all in all you're a terrible human being," she explained, calmly.

Freddie raised an eyebrow. "Ya think so?"

Darla nodded. "The only reason you hate me is because I'm in Slytherin, which is a perfectly stupid reason to hate someone. You know, Gryffindors and Slytherins are a lot alike," she mused. "Both of us are intelligent and have a certain disregard for rules. We're dedicated and we're both resourceful. We're different sides of the same coin, Freddie."

"You're trying to rationalize something that can't be rationalized," Freddie said, stopping outside of a big oak door. "Slytherins and Gryffindors just aren't supposed to get along. Al is the only exception I can make. You…you aren't family, you're really nothing to me." He turned around. "This is the library; find your own way back."

Darla stood in the hallway for a long time. "Well fine, I hate you too," she yelled, stomping her foot on the floor.

Blinking back tears, Darla went into the library. She didn't know why she was so upset, she had known Freddie hadn't liked her, and she was getting used to not being liked. Still, hearing him make a whole speech about it had bothered her a bit. Darla decided to focus on her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, that would take her mind off Freddie.


	3. Chapter 3

Darla wrote a letter to her father that night. She told him all about potions class, how much she hated everyone, her extreme dislike of charms, and how much she despised her roommates, but she managed to find room to mention James and Professor Amicussio. She decided not to tell him what Scorpius and Freddie had said. She sent the letter with one of the school owls before heading down to breakfast.

James seemed to be in much higher spirits than Darla. He clapped her on the shoulder when she sat down. "Ready for this afternoon?"

Darla groaned and grabbed a piece of bacon. "How are you so chipper so early," she whined.

"Easy, I fall asleep early," James explained as he fixed Darla's tie. "From what I heard you fell asleep while reading in the common room."

Darla's cheeks went bright red. "And just where did you hear that?"

"My little brother does live with you, he mentioned it. I really need you to be alert this afternoon, Darla, so try to get some sleep during your classes." James finished tying Darla's tie and he resumed eating breakfast. "Now, what was so interesting that it kept you up for half the night?"

Darla shrugged and nipped off the corners of a piece of toast. "Tuatha De Danann," she said, as though that explained everything. "It's a book about the early Fair Folk in Ireland, the ones closest to humans. Professor Amicussio-"

"I really don't want to think about Professor Luney-cussio this early," Freddie mumbled through a mouth full of oatmeal.

"Luney-cussio," Darla asked.

James nodded. "Yeah, in case you didn't notice, Professor Amicussio is a bit, well, insane. I'm sure he's a perfectly fine human being, but he's a terrible teacher."

"Our first year he locked us in a room with several hobgoblins," Freddie said, wincing a bit. "Not only did he lock up in there, but he provoked them first!"

"I got bit," James said, a little too proudly. "Yeah, Amicussio is a bit…off his head."

Darla shrugged and finished off her toast. "I think he's brilliant."

The day couldn't possibly go by fast enough for Darla. Transfigurations seemed to drag by. Professor Frangos was a short plump woman who seemed incapable of smiling. She couldn't stand her. The woman didn't seem to understand that Darla knew how to change a match into a needle and took points off from Slytherin when she noticed Darla wasn't taking notes. Darla quickly proved herself by the end of the practical lesson. Her father had plenty of books about Transfiguration that Darla had stolen to read in the past. Darla might have earned the points she lost back had she not gotten bored and turned the needle into a piece of straw by the end of the lesson. This not only earned her a scowl from Professor Frangos for 'not sticking to the lesson', but also earned her a swift kick in the shin by Avita Derrick for being a show off.

Darla managed to keep her mouth shut during Astronomy. Professor Caleum was a very tall blonde haired witch with a very soft voice, who lectured them all about the importance of the moon cycle and the position of the planets. Darla was not looking forward to keeping track of where the planets were, nor did the different names of stars interest her.

By the time History of Magic rolled around, Darla was awake and ready. Rather than pay attention to Professor Binns (who had a voice that Darla was sure would put her to sleep) Darla spent the time making a drawing of Professor Frangos being eaten by a Hobgoblin. When the bell rang, Darla put her picture away and hurried out the door.

Just as he had promise, James was waiting for Darla. He leaned back, one foot propped up on the wall, his eyes were closed and he didn't seem to notice Darla when she walked over to him.

"Hi," she said, trying to sound cheerful and excited.

James opened his eyes and smiled down at her. "Hey, Darling."

Darla's smile faltered. "Don't call me that," she said, quickly. She hated any variation on her name, the only reason she let Scorpius call her Darling was because he was bigger and stronger than she was, and he had proved that many times.

"Noted," James said, moving away from the wall. "Now, come on, we've got to get a move on. There are pranks a pull and times a wastin'."

Darla followed close behind James. She asked him what kind of prank they were pulling, but he just told her to wait and see.

Freddie wasn't waiting for the in the dungeons, Darla wasn't complaining. James positioned Darla at the staircase and told her to stay on the stairs if she could and to distract anyone coming by.

"Why do I have to stay on the stairs," Darla asked, raising an eyebrow.

James smiled and ruffled her hair, she flinched. "Just trust me, Darla. Wait and be good, I'll be back."

After James left, Darla sat down on the stairs and watched the hallway for anyone coming. It was completely deserted. Bored, Darla reviewed the information on Fair Folk she had learned.

"Brownies are small nocturnal Fair Folk. They tend to live in cottages and are good natured," she thought aloud, trying to remember everything she had learned. "Fauns are woodland Fair Folk. They tend to be very seductive and they lure their prey in using flutes, songs, or, um…shoot…!" Darla cursed under her breath.

"Or mind control," said a familiar voice behind her. "Fauns also use mind control to lure people in. Do you remember how to keep a faun from controlling a person?"

Professor Amicussio sat down beside her, sitting his briefcase on the top of the stairs.

Darla looked down at her lap, slightly embarrassed. She hadn't expected anyone to show up, if she had then she wouldn't have been studying aloud. "You avert your eyes. Fauns can only control you if you give them your full attention."

Professor Amicussio nodded and smiled slightly. "Very good. It's nice to see that someone was paying attention during class. You'd be surprised to know how many students fell asleep."

"How could they fall asleep," Darla asked, looking up from her lap. "It was interesting, probably the most interesting class I had, and I'm not just saying that. I thought it would be terrifying because of some of the books I've read, but it was actually great," she rambled.

Laughing, Professor Amicussio patted Darla on the head. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm even happier that you actually managed to learn something."

Darla smiled. "Well, I also learned a lot from Tuatha De Danann. I, um, I went to the library after class and got a couple of books. You didn't mention that 'Fair Folk' covered more than just simple things like Faeries and small goblins! Merpeople and even Elves are considered to be Fair Folk, aren't they?"

Professor Amicussio nodded. "That they are, I wasn't sure if anyone would catch on or not. I was hoping that someone would notice. You're quite an intelligent little girl, Miss Nott."

Darla was proud of herself. She had managed to impress Professor Amicussio, and that was enough to lighten her mood. "Maybe, but being smart tends to get me into trouble. Professor Frangos doesn't like it. I mean, I don't think I should get scolded for being bored. I did the stupid lesson! I turned the bloody matchstick into a needle! I don't think I should get into trouble for turning the needle into a piece of straw," she ranted.

"Well, Atropos doesn't want people to stray from the lesson," Professor Amicussio explained. "Next time, just do the lesson and then start on your homework."

Darla didn't think that that sounded like very much fun. She was enjoying talking to Professor Amicussio so much that she nearly forgot about the prank that Freddie and James were pulling. She might have forgotten completely, but a flood of soapy water came rushing like a river down the corridor.

The people in the portraits screamed as water splashed against their frames and Darla could have sworn she saw the coats of amour step back out of the way.

"Hmm, how interesting," Professor Amicussio said as the soapy water rushed past them, thankfully not reaching their sear on the stairs. "It looks like it's going to flood your common room, Miss Nott."

Sure enough, Darla could hear girls shrieking down the corridor and boys cursing loudly.

"I'm not in there," Darla said, nonchalantly. "Besides, I live upstairs, it's not like it's going to hurt any of my books or anything."

Professor Amicussio nodded, he was staring at the soap river as though it was a famous piece of art. "Well, that's always good. Well, this is very well done. If I weren't a teacher I would have to congratulate whoever managed to do this. Though, I have a few guesses as to who's handy work this is."

"Cassius," Miss Gargoyle's shrill voice cut through the air. "What is going on down here?"

Professor Amicussio looked up, still looking impressed. "It would appear, Minerva, that some students flooded the hallway."

The river thinned out and all that was left was a few soap bubbles.

"And you didn't think to do anything about it," Miss Gargoyle demanded, sternly.

Shrugging, Professor Amicussio looked back to the hallway. "It's not my job to stop soap rivers," he said.

"It's your job as a teacher to keep order!"

"No," he told her calmly. "It's my job to make sure that students know how to how to defend themselves from the dark arts." He looked over at Darla. "Are you hurt at all?"

Darla shook her head.

"Well, good job. You managed to keep yourself safe. Ten points to Slytherin."

Miss Gargoyle looked completely baffled. "Cassius, you cannot give points out like that!"

"Why not? She kept herself safe, I think that's worthy of points."

Miss Gargoyle shook her head and sighed. "I'm going to actually find out who is responsible for this."

She didn't have to go far. Within a few seconds, Freddie and James rounded the corner, both laughing hysterically. "Darla," James called before he rounded the corner. "Good job here, everything went perfect-" He stopped and his face went pale. "Everything went perfect with our, um, game of hide and seek…I found Freddie."

Miss Gargoyle put her hands on her hips. "I should've known."

"Wait," Professor Amicussio said, turning to Darla. "You knew about this? I take my points back, you didn't protect yourself, you knew what was going to happen!"

"I didn't know exactly what was happening, I was just keeping watch."

"Yes, ten points from Slytherin," Miss Gargoyle said, not taking her eyes from James and Freddie.

"And twenty from Gryffindor," Professor Amicussio said, cheerfully.

"Twenty," Freddie, James, and Miss Gargoyle said together.

Professor Amicussio shrugged. "There are two of them, ten each. That's fair, right, Minerva?"

Miss Gargoyle nodded. "Yes it is, Cassius. And detention for all of you."

"Why do I have detention," Professor Amicussio asked, sounding shocked.

"Cassius, you don't have detention, you're a teacher!"  
"Yes, but Miss Nott here is going to serve her detention with me next Friday night," Professor Amicussio said as he stood up and grabbed his briefcase. "I hope you're happy, Miss Nott," he said as he walked up the stairs and turned and walked down the corridor.

Darla wasn't sure if was happy or not, she had no idea what to think of Professor Amicussio. James and Freddie were right, he was a little crazy. Then again, maybe crazy wasn't bad.

Miss Gargoyle sighed and looked a bit defeated. "I don't know about that man sometimes," she muttered under her breath. "Fine, Miss Nott, you have your instructions for detention, apparently. Potter, Weasley, I'll send you your detention instructions later this week. I'll owl your parents tonight. I'm going to go make sure the Slytherin common room isn't waterlogged." She turned to leave, muttering something along the lines of, "I swear it must be genetic."

James and Freddie sat down on the staircase, they started laughing again.

"Well worth it," James said, wiping his eyes.

"I think this is a new record for us," Freddie said, happily. "Detention on the second day of school. My dad will be so proud of us."

James clapped Darla on the back. "Good job, kid."

Darla looked up, feeling perfectly miserable. She hadn't expected to get detention, at least not so early. "Why? You got caught? I was supposed to make sure that wasn't supposed to happen."

James shrugged. "You owned up, I didn't expect that. You'd be surprised how many people won't do that. Besides, you kept Professor Luney-cussio distracted. I couldn't have asked for more."

"There's always room for improvement," Freddie mentioned, taking a moment to glare at Darla. "But, I guess she didn't do a terrible job."

"That's the spirit," James cheered. "We'll have to include you in our next prank."

Darla wasn't sure how badly she wanted to be included in the next prank, but he did know how badly she wanted to keep James as a friend. So, Darla smiled and nodded eagerly. "I'd like that, James, this was fun." She found herself giggling. "I really hope Scorpius was in the common room."

"He was," Freddie assured her, offering her a very, very faint smile.

Darla couldn't help but smile. Everything was staring to go well. So what if half the school hated her? She had James and his pranks and she got the feeling that even Freddie was starting to warm up to her. Darla relaxed and leaned back on the steps. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad.

Her mood was slightly spoiled when she returned to the common room. The water had been removed from the floor, but some people's robes were still wet. Including Scorpius and Albus's.

Darla had barely stepped into the common room before her legs locked up and she tumbled to the ground. Scorpius walked forward, putting his wand back into her robes, Albus followed behind him and neither of them looked happy at all.

"You helped flood the common room," Scorpius said, loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Darla struggled for a moment, but her legs were completely immobilized. "I didn't help, exactly," she said in a soft voice. Fear welled up in her chest as her cousin stood over her. "I was just told to watch the corridors and make sure that no teachers came by."

"It was mainly my brother," Albus said. "But, then again, he doesn't live here."

"James always does things like this," Scorpius reminded him. "He didn't turn on his own house."

"I didn't turn on anyone," Darla said, defensibly. "I just did what I was told to do!" How was she supposed to know that the entire common room was going to be flooded?

Scorpius didn't seem to think this was a good enough pardon. He kicked Darla sharply in the side. Darla gasped in pain, her eyes welled up with tears and she grabbed her side.

"You never do as you're told," Scorpius snapped. "I don't see why you don't just write to your dear daddy and have him take you home. It's not like anyone here even likes you. In fact, most people can't stand you."

The whole situation seemed very unfair to Darla. It wasn't her fault that she had spent most of her childhood reading. It didn't seem right either that someone older, bigger, and stronger than her had immobilized her before he kicked her.

"That's not true," Darla said, her voice cracking slightly. It was difficult to tell if she was upset over what Scorpius had said or if she was just in pain. "James is my friend! He seems to like me just fine. I suppose he's just a better judge of character than any of you!"

Darla was kicked in the side once again, though not by Scorpius. Albus had pushed past him and delivered a swift jab at her ribs.

"Don't talk about my brother like you know him," he said in a very low whisper. "He doesn't like you, you're just useful to him right now and he feels sorry for you." Albus backed away and stared down at Darla. "You really are pathetic if you think my brother actually likes you." He turned around and started walking. "C'mon, Scorp, I need to change clothes."

Scorpius smiled before he turned and followed Albus up to the boy's dormitory.

Darla panted and clutched her side. She felt perfectly ready to start sobbing, but she knew she couldn't cry in the middle of the common room. That would show weakness, and now really wasn't the time to be weak. Darla took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down.

"You alright," a boy asked in a very small voice.

Darla looked up. She didn't recognize the boy, so she figured he had to be older than her. He was obviously quite a bit older than her, he had a Prefect badge pinned to his robes. His brown hair was cut short around his thin face and his hazel eyes seemed to be sunken into his face.

"Does it look like I'm alright," Darla snapped, still quite upset. "I just got kicked in the rips twice and I can't move my legs. What part of that says that I'm okay?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Do you want my help or not? I don't think you can get out of this yourself."

Darla sighed and took several more deep breaths. "Aren't you a bit worried about your reputation? The way I hear it, if you talk to me you pretty much have leprosy."

The boy shrugged. "I really don't care much about what people say about me." He paused. "Which, oddly enough, makes them respect me. I don't understand it. Leper or not, I don't think anyone deserves to be in an unfair fight. Outnumbered and outsized, it's a coward's way to fight," he explained as he pulled out his wand. "Though I don't expect much more from them."

Darla smiled as her legs became unlocked. "Thank you…um…I'm sorry, I have no idea what your name is," she admitted.

The boy smiled and shrugged. "I'm not surprised, you've only been here for two days." He extended his hand. "I'm Styx Sloper, make fun of my name and I'll kill you."

"Styx, I like it. Wasn't he the personification of hatred in Greek mythology? The rive Styx or something like that?"

Styx shrugged. "Possibly. I don't know. My dad is weird."

"My dad is weird too! But, he didn't get to name me, my Momma did," Darla said quickly. "I'm Darla Nott," she said, shaking his hand.

"I know. I've heard you're an annoying know-it-all." Styx smiled a bit. "Not that I mind, you might actually prove to provide some intelligent conversation at some point."

"Oh, I'm very good at intelligent conversation. Professor Amicussio says that I'm very intelligent, and I think that's a high honour coming from him." Darla didn't think that Professor Amicussio was they type of person to just hand out compliments.

Styx nodded. "Yeah, Amicussio is a bit weird, but always interesting. You never know when he's going to lock you in a room with an angry gnome or a dozen pixies. What people don't understand is that they're never in actual danger in Amicussio's classroom, so they panic and fail."

Darla quickly decided that she liked Styx. He was a bit odd, but odd wasn't always bad, as Darla was learning. Darla knew that they weren't friends. A few older boys came in and Styx, without bidding Darla farewell, and headed to dinner with them.

As soon as Styx had left her, Darla hurried up to her dormitory. She didn't feel much like eating dinner, she just felt like being alone. With everyone else in the Great Hall, it was the perfect time to be alone. Darla pulled the curtains around her bed and collapsed on top of the comforter. She pulled her ragged owl close to her chest and sighed.

"I don't know what to think, Prowly," she whispered to the owl. "I know that my ribs hurt and I know that most people are complete bastards."

Everything that Albus had said came flooding back to her. Was James really just keeping her around because he thought she was that pathetic? Was that something that people did?

Darla curled up into a ball and pressed her face into Prowly's stomach. Tears flowed freely. Darla couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to cry, it seemed like such a childish thing to do. She knew that her father didn't allow himself to cry. She couldn't even remember if he cried when her mother died. She had only been about eight when her mother had died and the memory was a little cloudy. She remembered so little about her mother, but the things she did remember gave her a little bit of strength.

Wiping her face, Darla sat up on her bed and sniffled. "You're right, Prowly," she told the stuffed owl. "Momma wouldn't want me to lose my pride so quickly, and I think this is what Daddy would call self pity. I need to pull myself together and get over it! Starting right now I'm making a promise to myself! I, Darla Nott, solemnly swear that I will not care about what anyone thinks and I won't worry about making friends. I'll study hard and I'll not bother anyone!"

Prowly didn't say anything, of course, but Darla assumed he thought that this was a fine and wonderful plan.

Darla sat at the Slytherin table at breakfast. She hadn't untied her tie the night before, so she didn't have any reason to go find James and have him tie it for her. She poured herself a cup of coffee, trying to make herself wake up. It wasn't working well, she had been up most of the night working on an essay about the Goblin Rebellion. It might have been an interesting topic had Darla not been working on it at two o'clock in the morning. She had her charms book propped up in front of her, though she knew that no matter how many times she read the words it still wouldn't make sense.

"Hoy, kid," James said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, do I have to remind you that you don't have to sit alone?"

Darla pushed James's hand off her shoulder, but didn't take her eyes off her book. "I'm studying," she said, simply.

James raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "C'mon, there'll be plenty of time to study later." He leaned against the table and looked down at her. "Again, do you want to sit at a table where everyone hates you?"

_'Better hated than pitied,'_ Darla thought. She sighed and looked up from her book. "Look, I just want to be alone right now, James. Please, for the love of God, leave me alone right now," she practically pleaded.

James ran his hand through his hair. "Well, if you change your mind there's always a seat open," James promised her.

"Thank you" Darla muttered, hoping that James would just hurry up and go away.

James looked down at though expecting Darla to say more. When she didn't say anything, he ruffled Darla's hair and walked back to the Gryffindor table.

Darla sighed and tried to study.

Over the next week, Darla did her best to stay out of everyone's way. She sat at the Slytherin table, studying, during lunch and hid out in her common room during dinner. She stopped going to breakfast all together. She didn't like it very much. Maybe if she hadn't spent any time with James then she wouldn't be so bothered by the loneliness. She stopped answering questions during class and even let Nero's potion explode during class. Charms class was still proving to be difficult.

Friday in Charms class Darla learned that there were some people she couldn't simply ignore. Namely, Lysander and Lorcan. They were supposed to be working on levitation, but considering Darla and Lorcan were both incredibly uninterested and Lysander had succeeded in causing books and feathers to float from table to table, none of them were really working.

"I'm very glad we're friends," Lysander said out of the blue, possibly to break the silence or possibly just because he was Lysander and he often said random things.

Darla was working on a potions essay, but she stopped and glanced up. "We are," she asked. She rarely ever talked to the twins, she only ever spoke to them during class, and then she hardly even spoke.

Lysander grinned and stared down at the table. "Of course we are. If we weren't then you wouldn't sit with us."

"Ly," Lorcan groaned and sat his quill down. "Just because someone talks to you it doesn't mean they're your friend."

Lysander's sad expression made Darla want to tell him that they were, in fact, friends, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She shrugged and went back to work on her essay, feeling worse than ever.

She was thankful she at least she had Defense Against the Dark Arts to take her mind off everything. She didn't really have anyone to talk to in that class, so she had little reason to speak up. Besides that, the class actually interested her and Professor Amicussio was, by far, her favourite person.

Darla sat with rapt attention as Professor Amicussio told them all about Hobgoblins and Grundolyns. He didn't read from the book, but explained everything in his own words.

He stood in front of the class on Thursday afternoon, discussing the more good natured Fair Folk. "Now, can anyone tell me what element Sylphs represent," he asked, clapping his hands together.

Biting her lip, Darla forced herself to keep her hand down.

Professor Amicussio looked around the room. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" He sighed deeply. "I'll give you a hint, it was in your reading last night."

Darla was certain that if she kept this up then her lip was sure to split.

"Alright," Professor Amicussio said, looking sorely disappointed. "Miss Nott, I assume you did the reading, what element do Sylphs represent?

Darla looked down at the table, refusing to look up to see if people were glaring at her. "Sylphs represent the air," she said, forcing herself not to give out anymore information than was necessary.

Professor Amicussio nodded. "Alright, very good. Can you tell me anything else about them?"

'_They're wish granters and protectors. However, they don't quite understand humans and when they grant wishes they tend to go wrong. Like the story of Matilda Kerr, who wished that everyone would notice her and the Sylph turned her into a statue in the centre of town…' _"They're fond of children," Darla said.

Professor Amicussio sighed deeply. "Yes, that's true…anything else?"

There were a hundred things that Darla knew to say, but she was tired of being a know-it-all and she was tired of people glaring at her in the hallway or stealing her books in the common room. "No sir," she grumbled, clenching her fists.

"Miss Nott, I need you to stay after class," Professor Amicussio said, causing a few people in the class to snicker. "Now, Sylphs…"

Darla listened to him tell the class almost exactly what she had wanted to say. She wanted to bang her head on the table. It was very hard to pretend to be dumb. But, if she didn't want to get beat up anymore she knew she had to keep her mouth shut.

When the bell rang Darla stayed in her seat. Once everyone else had left, Professor Amicussio closed the door and pulled a chair up to sit across the table from Darla.

He looked at her for a moment, as though trying to read her expression. Fortunately, Darla had learned how to keep her face blank.

"You knew the answer, didn't you," he said, unsmiling.

Darla shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"Drop the act, Miss Nott," Professor Amicussio said, real anger in his voice. "I know you're better than this. "

Darla didn't drop her act, she had too much at stake. "You haven't had me in class long enough to know that I'm better. Maybe I just didn't do the reading," she said, copying her father's monotone voice.

Professor Amicussio sighed and reached into his briefcase. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and cleared his throat. "I think that Sylphs are some of the most misunderstood of all the Fair Folk. According to 'Defending yourself against the Dark Arts – year one' Sylphs are very gentle wish granting Fair Folk. However, according to

Defaeco Levis ac Immuda Nocens' Sylphs have a tendency to go very wrong in wish granting. You must be very specific when making a wish, otherwise the Sylphs will only be able to do what they think is right. An example is Matilda Kerr, who wished that people would notice her and the Sylph made her into a large, golden statue." Professor Amicussio looked up over the paper and looked at Darla. "I do believe that's what you wrote on your homework assignment."

Darla looked down again and bit her lip.

"Darla."

Darla looked up, a bit surprised that Professor Amicussio had used her first name. She was even more surprised by how angry he sounded.

"It can be very difficult being intelligent," he told. "And I'm sure that it makes a few people angry, but you can't hide something like that. It's like being incredibly beautiful, it's not something you should hide. Everyone has their own talents, you have to embrace yours and forget about what other people say. Oddly enough, I know a bit about this subject." He shook his head. "It would be stupid not to use what you have."

Darla stared at him. Suddenly, she didn't understand why people thought he was insane. He was, by far, the smartest man that Darla had ever met. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.

Professor Amicussio looked and her, he reached out to touch her shoulder, but seemed to think better of it because he pulled his hand back awkwardly. "Is there something you want to talk about, Darla?"

There were several things that Darla wanted to talk about, but she wasn't sure that Professor Amicussio was the best person to talk to. "No, Sir," she said, finally and looked back down.

"Well, that's okay. We'll be spending most of tomorrow night together, maybe you'll want to talk then."

Raising an eyebrow, Darla looked up at him.

"You have detention tomorrow night, remember," he said, smiling slightly. "Though you probably don't deserve it, you still have it."

It seemed like ages ago that Darla had helped James pull his prank. It hadn't been more than a week, but it felt like a very distant memory. "Oh, right…that."

Professor Amicussio nodded. "Oh, and I have something for you," he said and dug through his robe pockets. "You weren't at breakfast this morning and this came for you." He handed her an envelope.

Darla smiled slightly. Her father had written her back! "Do you mind if I read it here," she asked, slightly afraid that someone in the common room might steal it from her.

Professor Amicussio shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Darla ripped into the envelope and two letters and a copping from a magazine fell out. She picked up one and recognized her father's block handwriting a once.

_Darla_

_ It's good to hear that you're having fun at school._

Darla had the strangest feeling that her father had merely skimmed her letter and hadn't actually taken the time to read it.

_I told you that you would make friends. I've just managed to finish my essay about the possibility of permanent human to animal transfiguration. It was much easier to write without anyone bursting into my study every few minutes. I included the article in case you were actually interested in what I do._

_ Even though I'm happy that you're having fun at school I'm not happy that you managed to get yourself into trouble on your second day. I don't want to get anymore owls from Professor McGonagall. Please be good and make sure that this doesn't happen again. I really don't have the time to write apology letters. No more pranks and no more trouble, understood?_

_ Sorry this letter is so short, but I'm in the middle of a new theory. I've been talking to a couple of people and we all agree that there has got to be a better defence to unforgivable curses than simple shield charms. Perhaps, if I'm correct, a way to reverse the effects of death. Your uncle thinks I'm crazy, but he was never a very studious person._

_ Stay out of trouble and take care of yourself, Darla. I love you and I'll see you at Christmas._

_ Theodore Nott._

Darla folded the letter up and put it in her pocket. She was certain that her father wouldn't have even written to her had she not gotten herself into trouble. Not wanting to cry in front of Professor Amicussio, Darla grabbed the second letter.

_My Darling Niece._

A smile crossed over Darla's face.

_Detention on the second day? That's almost a record, Darla. Couldn't you have chosen a better place to flood, though? Flooding your own common room really isn't a good idea, my dear, in case you didn't notice._

_ I'll try not to scold you so much for helping out with a prank, I understand that it can get rather boring at Hogwarts. I'm sorry that you're having a hard time, hopefully things will get better. You can't do much about your roommates, you're going to be stuck with them for the next seven years. Just try to ignore them and maybe they'll do the same._

_Aunt Astoria says to tell you hello and that she loves you too. She says that you remind her of Daphne sometimes, the way you complain about things and how quick you are to anger. But, she does ask that you'll try not to lose your temper while you're at school._

_ I know you might not believe it, but your father really does miss you. I came over and he went to your room to invite you down for lunch! I think he misses your delightful company, though he might not admit it. Or, he's just confused and forgot that he sent you to Hogwarts. You know how forgetful he can be when it comes to important things like you, and food, and sleep…_

_ Speaking of your father, he's completely lost his mind. He's talking about reversing death and even going so far as to start reading about alchemy. I'm afraid I might have to lock him up in a closet for a while, a closet where he can't get to any of his books and he can't nearly kill himself! He's coming up with ridiculous ideas and theories, I'm pretty sure that he's officially lost it. I'm sorry Darla, but your father is insane._

_ Alright, write back, and tell Scorpius that he needs to write back too! Be good and try not to get into anymore trouble. You'll be home at Christmas, so I'll see you them. Take care, your aunt and I love you._

_ Uncle Draco._

At the bottom of the letter, Darla noticed her father's block handwriting again.

_Don't listen to your uncle, I'll show you my theories over Christmas and you can see that they do, in fact, make sense. And yes, of course I miss you, Darla, I don't know why your uncle doesn't think I would admit it. – T.N_

_He's insane, Darla, don't believe him…except for the last part, believe him on that. – D.M._

_Again, I'm not insane. It's just that a certain someone won't listen to what I have to say! –T.N_

_I might listen if you had something important to say. – D.M  
Draco, why are we writing this? – T.N_

_Insanity? D.M_

_I'm not insane. – T.N_

_I lied, I'm totally insane, Look at my insanity. – T.N_

_Draco! – The real T.N_

_Darla,_

_Do ignore those two. They've been arguing for the past week. I'm thinking that I should send both of them to live in the artic for a while, that might shut them up. On the plus side, it does get your father out of his office every once in a while._

_I'm sorry your letter doesn't include any sweets or anything, but next week I'll be sure to send you at least a little something. I would say that you and Scorpius could share, but I've seen that play before. It's good to hear that you haven't set anyone else on fire, we wouldn't want a repeat of Christmas…or your birthday…or the train station…you know, I'm just glad that there are no fires._

_I hope everything gets better and I'll see you at Christmas._

_ Much, much love_

_Astoria Malfoy._

Darla giggled and hugged the letter to her chest. It was nice to know that someone out there cared about her.

Professor Amicussio smiled slightly. "Feeling better now?"

Darla nodded. The letters had come at just the right time, she had needed something to cheer her up. Her father might have been slightly distant, but her aunt and uncle had remembered her. That had made her feel a little better. "Apparently my father has lost his mind," she told him and wiped her eyes.

"Well, it happens to the best of us. Now, why don't you run along to your common room?" Professor Amicussio stood up and grabbed his briefcase.

"Alright. Thank you, Professor," Darla said. She pushed her chair back and grabbed her bag off the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow night!"

"Right after dinner," he reminded her. "And, Miss Nott?"

Darla stopped and turned around. "What'd I forget?"

Professor Amicussio smiled slightly. "When you know the answer in class, speak up. If you don't, I'll have to lock you in a room with an agitated pixie."

Darla promised that she would answer all the questions. She left the classroom and walked through the corridors, rereading the letter from her uncle. She hoped that her father hadn't actually gone insane, though she wouldn't know for sure for several months. Christmas felt ridiculously far away.

Darla skipped happily into the common room. Collapsing on the sofa, she read her letters for the tenth time. It was strange how something so simple could make her feel so happy.

"Hey Darling," Scorpius said, leaning over the back of the sofa. "What's that you've got there?"

"A letter from your father," Darla told him, not bothering to look up.

Scorpius plucked the letter from her hand. "Don't take other people's mail," he snapped, furiously.

Darla turned around and sat up on her knees. "It's not yours! It's mine, give it back!" She knew that she sounded a bit childish, but she didn't care.

Not believing her, Scorpius read over the letter. "Why is my father writing to you?"

"He's my uncle and he loves me! Now give it back!"

"My mother wrote to you?"

"She's my aunt and she loves me too! Give me my letter back."

Scorpius, of course, didn't give Darla back her letter. He raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Your father has finally lost his mind? Well, if I had to raise you then I'd lose my mind too!"

"Daddy hasn't lost his mind! He's brilliant," Darla said, defensively. It was one thing when she talked about her father, it was okay for her to talk about how crazy her father was. When Scorpius did it, however, it made Darla's cheeks turn bright red and anger boiled up inside of her. "Now give me back my letters!"

Scorpius seemed to consider this for a moment. He held the letters out to Darla, but when she went to take them he pulled them away. "I could give them to you, or I could throw them into the fire…"

Darla jumped off the couch and made a mad grab for her letters. "Please don't do that," she cried, reaching desperately for the letters. "I'll be quiet and stay out of your way! Just please don't throw my letters away."

Shaking his head, Scorpius handed her the letters back. "Merlin, I didn't expect you to panic so much. Here's your stupid letters."

Darla clutched her letters to her chest and sank back into the couch. She swore that she would never read anything in front of Scorpius ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

Things started out much better for Darla the next day. For one thing, she didn't have to sit next to Nero anymore. A Gryffindor boy that Darla vaguely recognized was sitting next to him, neither of them looked terribly happy.

Darla slid into the only available seat, next to a Gryffindor girl with waist long red hair.

The girl looked up and sighed. "You're not going to blow your potion up, are you," she asked, looking Darla up and down.

"I've never even come close to blowing up a potion," Darla said, sounding scandalized. "You don't blow up potions, do you?"

"Of course not," the girl said, tossing her red hair back over her shoulder.

Darla nodded, deciding that this would be a much better seat. "I'm Darla Nott."

"I know," the girl said, shrugging her shoulders. "You're my older brother's friend. I'm Lily Potter."

Darla smiled a bit. "Oh, yeah…um, I don't think James and I are really friends." Darla distracted herself by digging through her bag for her potions book.

Lily shook her head. "No, if you weren't friends then he would tell you…loudly. My brother is very blunt about things like that. Mum says he gets it from Dad's side. I don't know, my brothers are both weird." She paused for a moment. "From what I hear you've become like a pet to him. Mum and Dad never let James have pets, they were worried about what he might do with them. Oh, not that I think he would do anything particularly horrid to you."

Darla listened to Lily ramble, but she didn't think that she was right. After what Albus had said, Darla couldn't bring herself to believe that James actually liked her. Besides that, everyone else seemed to hate her, why should James be any different. Also, she couldn't help but notice Lily's use of the word 'pet'. That word had come up quite a lot when people talked about her and James. Darla forced her to focus on her potion, she couldn't be distracted by James.

By the end of class both Lily and Darla had completed their potions and both potions met Bane's very low standards.

"You should talk to him," Lily said as they packed up their things.

Darla looked up. "I should what?"

"Talk to him, my brother I mean," Lily explained. "I mean, you haven't talked to him in days, have you?"

Darla raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at Lily.

"I notice things, I'm an observant sort of person." She paused. "Besides that, James asked me the other day if his parts were falling off…he decided that you were avoiding him because he had developed leprosy overnight."

Darla rolled her eyes and threw her bag over her shoulder. "We'll see," she muttered before heading off to charms class.

It quickly occurred to Darla that the day went much faster when you were dreading something. At seven o'clock that evening, Darla packed away the homework she had been working on and trudged out of the common room and went to Professor Amicussio's classroom.

On the walk there she wondered what detention was going to be like. Theodore certainly didn't have any books on detention, so she had no idea what to expect.

She entered the classroom, shaking slightly. Professor Amicussio was sitting on the floor beside a large fire, he had a frying pan and a plate of sausages sitting beside him.

"Good evening, my little Phooka," he said, cheerfully. He patted the ground next to him and smiled. "Take a seat and we'll get this detention started."

Nervously, Darla sat down beside him and looked at the fire. "What, um, what am I going to do now?"

Professor Amicussio's smile grew wider. "Well, you're going to make sausage for me. See, the way I see it, teachers have students in detention to do things that they themselves don't want to do. You're too young to grade essays or tests, and I have elves to clean my classroom for me. So, I asked myself 'Cassius, what do you want?' The answer? Sausages! Just put them in the pan, put the pan over the stove, and we'll have sausages."

Darla raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that this is how detention works, Professor…"

"Oh, I didn't realize that you were the resident expert in detention," Professor Amicussio said, acting as though he were incredibly impressed. "Now, make me some sausage," he dropped the act completely.

Sighing, Darla put the sausage in the pan and put the pan in the fire.

Professor Amicussio leaned back against a table, looking much more relaxed than he did during class. His tie was loosened and his shirt had come untucked, he had even pulled his suspenders off his shoulders and let them hang limply by his side. "So," he said as the sausages cooked. "How are you liking Hogwarts, Miss Nott?"

Darla shrugged and turned the sausages over. "I really like my classes and everything. I spent a lot of my time at home studying, so that's not really different."

"Mmhmm…." Professor Amicussio considered that for a moment. "Funny, most people talk about how much they like their friends when I ask them that. How about that, Miss Nott? Have you made any good friends?"

Darla felt her face go red. She busied herself by poking the fire. "I haven't really made any friends," she admitted, sheepishly.

"I see…what about Mister Potter? You sat with him for the first couple of days," he pointed out. "Is he not your friend?"

"No," Darla said immediately. She focused on the fire, not wanting Professor Amicussio see her eyes welling up with tears. "He doesn't really like me, he just feels bad for me because I'm small and I can't do anything right…like tie my tie or talk to people."

"He said that?"

Darla shook her head. "It's…it's very complicated, Professor…"

Professor Amicussio shrugged his shoulders. "Believe me when I say that I have the time."

There were certain things that Darla knew about dealing with people, one was that you never ever told a teacher what someone did to you. She sighed and shook her head. "It's just that, well, sometimes Scorpius and Albus and some of the other people in my house, um, they gang up on me and tease me about things. Like how I'm smart and how I think that James is my friend. Albus told me that James just pitied me, so I know that now. I'm just tired of people teasing me about everything." She decided it would have been much easier if she had just let the hat put her in Gryffindor. Then maybe she could really be friends with James, and not just pitied by him. Then she wouldn't have to deal with Scorpius. Yes, she decided, things would have been easier if she weren't in Slytherin.

"I absolutely must remember to lock Malfoy and Potter in a room with an angry Gnome," Professor Amicussio said, quite calmly.

Darla looked up and rested her chin on her knees. "Can I watch?"

"Darla," Professor Amicussio said, pulling the burnt sausages out of the fire. "You have got to learn to stand up for yourself."

Darla certainly hadn't expected that sort of advice. She had expected Professor Amicussio to say something about Scorpius and Albus being cowards. "Will that make people stop pitying me?"

"I don't think that anyone pities you now," he said, as though this were obvious. "I don't know why you would believe someone you don't know over someone who did help you, that shows a lack of confidence." Professor Amicussio furrowed his brow and brushed back his hair. "I think that's part of your problem, you lack confidence."

Darla pursed her lips. "I most certainly do not lack confidence," she said, scandalized. "I'm one of the smartest people in my year! I'm very confident!"

"In schoolwork," Professor Amicussio told her. "You know that you can do most anything that the teachers teach you, you understand the work and that makes it much easier. Do you understand people?"

"Not really," Darla admitted. "Daddy didn't keep any books about interacting with people, so I've never studied it."

Professor Amicussio laughed slightly. "You can't understand people from a book, Darla. You have to be around them and interact with them to really understand them. But, you don't want to do that, because you have no idea how it'll turn out. It's not like magic, you can't just read a book and know what friendship is supposed to look like. You have to actually experience it."

Darla looked down to the floor and thought about this for a moment. Never in her childhood had she had to make friends, the only other person around her age she ever saw was Scorpius and they fought like cats in a bag of water.

"So…what do I do, exactly?"

"I can't tell you that that would spoil the surprise!" Professor Amicussio stood up and helped Darla to her feet. "But, that's your new homework assignment. I want you to make at least one friend. I think that Potter was a good friend, try and get him back."

Darla didn't think that this was a very fair assignment. It was Professor Amicussio's job to teach her how to defend herself from the dark arts, not to force her to make friends.

"Well, the sausage is ruined," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Let's go down to the lake, now is an excellent time to see the Kelpie that lives there."

Darla hadn't been paying much attention to the rules on her first day, but she did know some of them. "I don't think I'm supposed to be out of the castle after dark…"

"Ah, but you're with a teacher, and that makes all the difference I assume." He paused. "Just, um, just don't tell Professor McGonagall about this. She doesn't quite understand the importance of my studies on the Kelpie."

Darla decided it would be better not to question this and simply followed Professor Amicussio outside. The night air was warm and crisp, not hot and muggy like it was during the day. Darla and Professor Amicussio sat down by the lake. A breeze washed over them, bringing with it a light smell of algae.

"There it is," Professor Amicussio said, happily, as a long tentacle waved out of the water. "They're shape shifters, you see. Most of them use that to lure people into the water, this one here seems happy being a squid."

"I don't blame it one bit," Darla said, staring off into the lake water. "It would be nice to be a squid."

Professor Amicussio nodded and leaned back. "Yes, but then you'd have to deal with the Merpeople."

For the rest of detention Darla listened to Professor Amicussio talk about the nature of Merpeople. She couldn't explain it, but he looked…different, somehow. Maybe it was the moonlight, but she could swear that his skin had a slightly bluish tint to it. When he stood up to walk her back up to the castle she could swear that he was taller than before. Once he got into the light of the entrance hall, however, he looked perfectly normal again.

Darla blinked several times, wondering if she had really seen any change in the man at all.

"Well, little Phooka," Professor Amicussio said. "I think its best you go and get yourself into bed, it's quite late and I believe you have some homework to get started tomorrow."

"Professor, may I ask you something?"

Professor Amicussio nodded. "You just asked me something. Though, I suppose, you may ask me something else if you wish."

Darla paused, she wasn't exactly sure how to ask him if his skin changed in the moonlight. "Why do you know so much about Fair Folk?"

"It is my job to know about them," he said simply. "Now, off to be with you, pet, it's getting quite late and I'm certain you're very tired."

Darla hadn't noticed how very tired she was until Professor Amicussio mentioned it. She yawned and her legs felt slightly weak, it was as if all the energy had drained out of her. "Goodnight, Professor."

Professor Amicussio bid her farewell and Darla returned to the Slytherin common room. It was well past midnight, though it appeared that most people were still awake. Darla could have finished her essay or wrote a letter to her uncle, but exhaustion had claimed her.

Without changing into her pyjamas, Darla fells asleep on top of her comforter, holding tight to Prowly.

Morning came far too early. Darla was awake before the sun had come up, so full of nervous energy that she couldn't fall back asleep. Thunder rumbled outside and storm clouds had filled the sky. Darla sat on her bed, holding Prowly tight to her chest, watching the storm roll in.

Rain was pounding against the window by the time Darla was dressed and ready to head downstairs. She stood in front of the mirror for a while, trying to figure out what she was supposed to say to James when she saw him.

_Maybe just a simple hello? Or would that come off as too casual? Should I be casual? Maybe he does think I was just studying. No, he's smarter than that. Damn, if I had class today then I could ask him to tie my tie for me. If I don't leave soon then I might miss him. Should I just sit down? _

Darla groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. Why was this so difficult? "I guarantee it's not as difficult as I'm making it out to be! Now stop this and just go talk to him," she scolded herself.

Before she could change her mind, Darla turned and trotted out of the dormitory and down to the common room.

"Hoy, Nott, you heading to breakfast," Styx yelled from across the room.

Darla smiled slightly. "Yes, would you like to walk with me?"

Styx did in fact want to walk with her and Darla didn't complain. She liked Styx well enough, he didn't pick on her, if anything he was kind to her. Of course, she was beginning to realize that he was kind to most people in Slytherin.

"So then I found my owl in the toilet," he said, ecstatically finishing a story that Darla really hadn't been paying attention to.

Darla found that, while she liked Styx, he told the most ridiculous stories that might have been interesting had they not been so long. "Huh, that's a strange place for an owl."

Styx raised an eyebrow. "Well, not really. I mean, considering I _did_ have Transfigurations that day _and_ a Potions essay, the toilet was the only logical place for the owl."

Part of her wanted to hear the story again, she wanted to know exactly why those were logical reasons for an owl to be in the toilet. Styx, however, broke away from her once they were in the Great Hall and went to go meet up with his friends.

Taking a deep breath, Darla walked over to the Gryffindor table. She tried not to be quite so tense and stiff. It was very easy to spot Freddie, he was tall and was always loud. James was never far away from him. He sat beside Freddie, leaning back in his seat and looking like he might be asleep.

"Hoy, James," Freddie said, glancing over at Darla. "There seems to be a little person standing here. Actually, it might not be a person at all. It's either an oversized hedgehog or a tall Pixie. The hair tells me it's a hedgehog, but the face makes me think it's a Pixie."

Darla rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny, Freddie," she said, sarcastically.

"Oh, Merlin, it speaks!" Freddie gasped. "Hedgehogs aren't supposed to speak! What trickery is this?"

"I'm not a hedgehog or a Pixie! I'm a little girl!" Darla ran her hand through her short black hair. She hadn't brushed it, so it was sticking out a bit. Still, she didn't think that made her look like a hedgehog.

Freddie rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. "You speak like a Pixie, but you still look like a hedgehog." He nudged James in the rubs. "What do you think?

James didn't open his eyes. "Hedgehog," he mumbled.

Darla pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "I am most certainly not a hedgehog!"

"Boys, knock it off," Professor Amicussio said from behind Darla. "You're being ridiculous! Had you paid any attention whatsoever to any of my classes then you would know exactly how to spot a Pixie!"

Darla smiled. She was getting tired of arguing about whether or not she was a hedgehog.

"Now look at the hair and the big brown eyes then factor in the size and weight and the lack of wings. Then look at how straight she stands and the way she moves. What does that tell us?" He paused like he was waiting for an answer. When no one spoke up, he sighed and went on. "Boys, obviously she's a hedgehog pixie hybrid. You know, that can happen when you let pixies and hedgehogs run around the castle all willy nilly," he explained, as though this were scientific fact. "A hedge-pixie, or Pixie-hog, as they are more commonly known, will make a great and loyal pet it they're cared for correctly."

"And what do Pixie-hogs eat," Freddie asked.

"Why, Bertie Botts, of course. Just don't feed them any of the green ones, that will make them start to rage, and it's very difficult to stop a Pixie-hog from raging. They have all the strength of a pixie and the stamina of a hedgehog," he explained.

James opened his eyes and smiled. "Well, it looks like I've just found my new pet; I guess I won't need that owl after all. We'll take it to the common room and I'll keep it in a box under my bed. I'll wrap blankets around the box and make a cosy little bed for it."

"Don't be stupid," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "Pixie-hogs don't like blankets, they like cedar chips."

Darla turned around to talk to Professor Amicussio, but he had slipped away. She sat down beside James and rolled her eyes. "You guys are weird."

"You're a hedge-pixie, you have no room to call _us_ weird," James said, ruffling Darla's hair. "So, did you finally finish whatever you were studying?"

Darla busied herself by buttering a piece of toast. "Um, yeah," she lied. "I mean, I didn't really need to study for much except History of Magic and Charms. I bloody well hate Charms class."

"Well, Freddie and I can help you with Charms!"

Freddie looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Speak for yourself, James. I'm not helping her with anything."

"Animosity isn't healthy, Freddie," James noted. "C'mon, it'll be fun. Lots of fun…I assume."

Freddie did not look convinced. He sighed and ran his hand through his uneven hair. "I really don't like this idea, James."

"Aww, are you jealous of my new pet, Freddie?"

Freddie shook his head and sighed. "Again, James, I really hate whatever it is you're planning."

James leaned over and whispered something in Freddie's ear. Freddie groaned and leaned back.

"Fine, fine, fine," Freddie muttered and pushed his chair back from the table. "I give up, you win. But we are not spending our Saturday in a library learning Charms!"

"Oh! Can I meet up with you guys later? I have a History of Magic essay that I need to work on," Darla interjected. "I won't make you stay in the library with me, I think you'd get very bored very quickly.

"'Course," James said, smiling. "Freddie and I will go come up with a great plan and we'll tell you about it. Hmm, meet us by the painting of the Fat Lady? It's near the north tower."

Darla nodded. "Alright, I think I can find it."

"Good, be there at about four o'clock, we should have a plan for our next prank by then. Trust me, this one if going to be way better than the last one."

It had taken a bit of effort on her part, but Darla was beginning to turn into a very happy girl. She may not have had as many friends as Scorpius, but she had enough. She had James, who she thought counted for at least five people. Even though he thought of her as a pet, he was a good friend. Then she had Styx sometimes, he was interesting, even if he was a bit odd. Darla thought that even Freddie was starting to warm up to her a bit. Professor Amicussio was kind of like her friend, even if he was a teacher. Darla liked him and he seemed to like her, that was enough for her. She even had Lysander and Lorcan and she made a mental note to talk to them more often. She was almost sure that the hat had made a mistake, or that she had made a mistake. Maybe Slytherin wasn't the best place for her.

Darla enjoyed the peace and quiet of the library. The only sound was of the rain pounding against the window and the occasional rumble of thunder. Even though Darla didn't like the thunder, she was thankful for the storm. The clouds meant that she couldn't observe the moon or the star patterns, so she wasn't going to have to do much for her weekly Astronomy report. She had her nose stuck in her History of Magic book and wasn't paying much attention to the people around her.

The sound of books being dropped on her table knocked Darla back into reality. She stopped reading about the treaty between Fauns and humans and looked up.

Albus stood over her. Darla glanced around, figuring that Scorpius wasn't far away. She had noticed that the two were usually together.

"Hey," he said, a bit awkwardly.

Darla picked her book back up and rolled her eyes. "Hello, Albus," she said, as monotone as possible. "Come to tease me? Possibly hit me again or immobilize me?"

Albus sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Why would I do that?"

"That seems to be a favourite pastime of Scorpius's, and you two seem to be friends. I assumed that you shared similar hobbies," she explained. "Besides, the last time I saw you I was immobilized and you kicked me for saying that I was friends with your brother. My ribs are still hurting from that, by the way."

Albus moved a chair back and sat down in front of her. "Yeah, I remember that. Look, James talked at me."

"Oh really?" Darla stared at her book but watched Albus from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah. I probably shouldn't have kicked you, that was bad or whatever. I overreacted." That, Darla thought, was an understatement. "It wasn't fair to do that you. You're two years younger than I am, I probably shouldn't be quite so…what's the word for it?"

Darla shut her book and looked up at Albus. "I believe you're trying to say that you shouldn't have been such a bastard," she told him, calmly and smiled slightly.

"Don't call me a bastard," Albus said, offended. "That's rude. I was trying to apologize and you're calling me a bastard?"

Darla shrugged, not quite sure why Albus was so offended. "Well, you were being a bastard, weren't you? Besides, you're only apologizing because James told you to, though I have no idea how he knew you were picking on me."

"He knew because everyone picks on you," Albus said as he stood up. "And now I see why. You can't just call people bastards, Nott."

Darla raised her brow. "Why not? You were being a bastard, I don't see why you're so bothered by that. It's like when people say I'm a know-it-all. Bastard is just a word, Albus, it's just a noun. You shouldn't let a noun bother you. That shows weakness on your part."

Albus rubbed his temples and shook his head. "Doesn't it bother you when people call you things and tease you?"

"Of course," Darla said. She shrugged and went on. "But there's a difference."

"And what is that?"

"Well," Darla looked up. "People call me those things because they need someone to hate, they need somewhere to vent. I didn't call you a bastard because I hate you."

Albus stared at her for a moment, as though that would help him to understand her logic. "People don't hate you because they need someone to hate," he said, but he sounded a little sceptical.

"Oh?" Darla raised an eyebrow. "Then why do they hate me?"

Albus rolled his eyes and turned around. "Because you're a know-it-all and you're weird. And, by the way, I don't feel bad about kicking you in the ribs."

After Albus left, Darla was terribly confused. She couldn't focus on her homework anymore. She simply didn't understand. Albus had been being a bastard and she had told him, that seemed to be the logical thing to do. Of course, she was beginning to learn that the logical thing wasn't always the best thing. It was logical to tell Nero that his potion was going to explode, but he didn't seem to like it when she did. It was logical to tell Cassia Bole that her Astronomy chart was wrong. And, Darla thought, it was perfectly logical to tell Albus that he was being a bastard. Darla rested her head on the table. She would have to have a talk with Professor Amicussio about people, he might actually understand.

She was still confused at a quarter till four when she went to meet up with James. Miraculously, Darla found the painting without getting lost once. James and Freddie hadn't arrived yet, so Darla slid down and sat with her back pressed against the wall.

She was still going over the conversation she had had with Albus, she didn't seem to notice that the lady in the portrait was glaring at her.

Darla had just closed her eyes when she heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

"Excuse me, Miss Nott?"

Darla opened her eyes and stared up. Her Herbology professor, Professor Longbottom, was standing over her, wearing a curious look on his face. Darla hadn't liked him since the first day in class when he had accidentally stepped on her. Of course, she couldn't blame him, as he was at least a foot and a half taller than she was.

"Oh, hello, Professor," she said, with as much politeness as she could possibly muster.

Professor Longbottom ran his hand through his short brown hair. "Do you mind me asking what you're doing here?"

"Yes," Darla answered, simply.

"Alright, well, allow me to rephrase the question. What are you doing here?"

"Sitting."

"Yes, I can see that. Why are you sitting here?"

Darla shrugged. "It seemed like a good place to sit. Why? Is it against the rules to sit in certain corridors? Because, really, that just seems silly." She smiled.

"Well, no, it's not against the rules…" Professor Longbottom glanced over at the portrait. "It's just, well….don't you have some homework to do?"

"I finished it."

"Well, maybe you could go down to the library and sit there."

"I was just in the library, that's where I went to finish my homework," she explained, calmly.

Professor Longbottom sighed, looking quite irritated. "Well, perhaps you could go down to your common room."

"Hoy," James said, climbing out from behind the portrait. "She's with us, Professor." He grinned and walked over, Freddie followed closely behind him.

"Alright. Um, why?"

James shrugged. "She's our friend." He glanced over at Freddie. "Well, she's my friend."

"Wesley, Potter."

"Oh, do you just mean me or do you mean Freddie and me?" James asked, innocently.

Professor Longbottom raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if there was a comma in that sentence or a hyphen. You see, Professor, I'm 'Weasley-Potter', technically. Since my mum is a Weasley and my Da is a Potter. I just thought I check to see."

Professor Longbottom shook his head. "I meant both of you, and I could have done without the explanation."

James shrugged and grinned.

"Why don't you three go and, um, sit in another corridor? I'm not sure if she's technically supposed to be up here."

"Now, why would we do that? I was going to take her into the common room and build her a little bed in the dormitory. You see, Professor, she's a Hedge-Pixie and she needs a home."

"I don't know what a Hedge-Pixie is, but she's not one."

"How do you know she's not if you don't know what one is?"

"Maybe he calls them Pixie-Hogs," Freddie offered.

"No, neither of those things are real," Professor Longbottom said, exasperated.

James shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "But, a Professor told us about them. Are you saying that a Professor lied?"

"Was it Professor Amicussio?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." He paused and sighed again. "Also, she's not allowed in the Gryffindor common room."

James rolled his eyes. "My Da went into the Slytherin common room once," he said, calmly. "And he went in the Ravenclaw common room once."

"Those were different times," Professor Longbottom said. "Now, if the three of you wish to do something that I hope is constructive, you can go somewhere that isn't here."

Darla raised her hand, trying to get everyone to stop talking. "Alright, but, um, what if I said I wanted to be in Gryffindor," she asked, quietly.

Well, it certainly did get everyone to stop talking. Freddie raised an eyebrow and looked down at her, James smiled slightly, and Professor Longbottom just looked baffled.

"Well…you can't be," he said, confused. "The sorting hat put you in Slytherin."

"I'm letting a magic hat decide my fate? Well, that doesn't sound very logical, Professor."

Professor Longbottom rubbed his face with his hands. "That hat has been at Hogwarts for over two-hundred years."

"That's an old hat," James said. "It could be confused…"

"It's not confused, Potter."

"I think it's confused," Darla agreed. "So, can I be in Gryffindor now?"

Professor Longbottom shook his head. "No, you can't."

Darla stuck out her lower lip and pouted. That usually worked when she wanted her Uncle to do whatever is was she wanted.

"C'mon, Uncle Neville," James whispered. "It'll be fun."

"Okay, James, while you're at school you have to call me 'Professor Longbottom," he said, sternly. "Secondly…no."

James crossed his arms. "You're a bad God-father, the worst. That's saying a lot because my Da's Godfather was on the run from the ministry. You're being a dark wizard."

"James, you can't just call everyone you're mad at a dark wizard, you know that. We've all told you that before."

"I'm writing to Da'," James said. "I'm telling him that's you're being a dark wizard. I'll tell him that you're bad and you're making my new pet sad."

Freddie chuckled. "That rhymed."

James stopped pouting and grinned. "Hey, you're right, it did!"

"Alright, boys and Miss Nott," Professor Longbottom said, hoping for some kind of sanity. "Please, go have your fun somewhere else."

"But I still want to be in Gryffindor," Darla whined.

Professor Longbottom groaned. "Fine, we'll go see the headmistress about this."

Darla's eyes got wide and she scooted a little closer to the wall. She had already gotten into trouble once this year, and she didn't want to get in trouble again, especially not just for being unhappy. "I'm in trouble for this?"

"No," Professor Longbottom assured her. "I just don't know what to do anymore. Boys, you stay here. Miss Nott, please come with me."

Shaking, Darla followed Professor Longbottom through the corridors. She didn't know what to expect. All she knew for sure was that she wished that James had been allowed to come with her. He would've made her a bit calmer. Maybe talked about his next great prank? Darla took a deep breath and put her hands in her pockets to keep them from shaking so bad.

"Wait here," Professor Longbottom told her.

Darla watched as he disappeared around a corridor. She leaned against the wall and tried to calm herself down. She didn't think that it was such an unreasonable request. She was unhappy and she realized that she would be much happier if she were around her friends.

After a few minutes, Professor Longbottom returned. "Alright, come on," he said.

Darla followed him to a stone gargoyle, she tried very hard not to laugh.

"Now, I'm going to say the password, and then you can go upstairs and see Professor McGonagall."

Darla nodded and nervously brushed back her hair. When the gargoyle jumped aside, Darla walked onto the moving stone staircase.

When she got to the top of the stairs she was not at all surprised to see that Professor McGonagall had the room very sparsely decorated. Portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses hung around the room, but that was about the end of the decorating. The bookshelf was very neatly organized, she had no shiny bobbles on her desk, and all her papers were in neat little piles. Darla was sorely disappointed by this.

"Miss Nott," Professor McGonagall said with a small sigh. "Please have a seat."

Darla, without thinking twice, sat down in the chair in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. For a moment the two were very quite, the silence only increased Darla's anxiety.

Professor McGonagall stared at Darla over her glasses. "I don't believe that any student has ever requested a transfer to another house before," she said, sounding exasperated. "The sorting hat puts people into houses based on their abilities, but you do always have a say in the matter. Did you ask to be in Slytherin, by chance?"

Darla looked down at her hands. She was, to say the least, a bit afraid. Gryffindors were supposed to be brave, but she wasn't feeling very brave at the moment. She nodded, not sure if she could speak or not.

Sighing, Professor McGonagall stood up and paced around behind her desk. "Miss Nott, you realize that your house does not define who you are, correct?" She didn't wait for Darla to respond. "Your house where you live and it's meant to put you in a place with people like you. People who have the same goals, the same ideas, people that you will get along with." She paused and looked over at Darla, staring down at her like a hawk. Darla slid down a little in her seat. "However, from what I've seen, you're more likely to be found sitting at the Gryffindor table. Do you have more in common with Mister Potter and Mister Weasley than with the people in your house?"

Darla cleared her throat and looked up. "Yes," she said, a lump forming in her throat.

"Well, you three do seem to have a deliberate disregard for the rules." There was a hint of a smile of Professor McGonagall's face. "Miss Nott, can you tell me why, exactly, you wanted to be in Slytherin in the first place?"

Blinking back tears, Darla looked back down to her lap. She hated crying and she didn't think that now was a good time to cry. "My Daddy, my Uncle, and my Aunt were all in Slytherin. Everyone in my family has been in Slytherin," she explained in a very soft voice. "Besides that, my Momma was in Slytherin. I don't know what she would've thought if she knew I wanted to be in Gryffindor now."

There was silence for a moment. Darla stared down at the floor and took a deep shaky breath.

"I understand," Professor McGonagall said, finally, as she sat back down. "Do you believe your mother would be at all disappointed?"

Darla shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it's just that, well..." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "People in my house sometimes tease me because, well, I don't know why, and James never picks on me. I don't know if my mother would be disappointed because I'm not making friends in Slytherin or not. I mean, James and Freddie have been very kind to me. Well, not Freddie so much, but James and even his little sister Lily!"

Professor McGonagall held up her hand to stop Darla from rambling anymore. "Miss Nott, I don't believe your mother would have any reason to be disappointed," Professor McGonagall assured her. "You've made friends with someone who likes you, I believe that is all that you can hope to do." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Like I said before, your house is a place where you should feel safe, a place where you should find people that you can relate to. If you are more likely to find that in Gryffindor, well, then we may have to try it out and see how it works."

Darla looked up, her eyes wide and a small smile forming. "Really? You mean I can be a Gryffindor?"

Professor McGonagall sighed. "I don't see any reason why not. Now, it'll take me at least a month to get everything out and make all the arrangements."

"It's okay," Darla said, happily. "I can wait."

"Now, this might not be permanent, understood? After I get all the arrangements made we'll have to watch and see if this will work. Is that clear, Miss Nott?"

Darla stood up and grinned. "Crystal! Thank you Professor?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Don't thank me, Miss Nott. This is a school and education is our priority. If being in Slytherin is affecting your grades or your well being then it is my job as headmistress to fix the problem."

"Still, I'm very happy."

"Well, it'll take about a month before we can get everything arranged," Professor McGonagall reminded her. "Until then, maybe you should hold onto this." She reached into her desk and pulled out a gleaming Gryffindor pin.

Darla grinned so much she thought her face was going to split in two. She pinned the badge to her robes, proudly.

Professor McGonagall excused Darla. Darla trotted happily out of her office, feeling better than she had in days. She was not surprised to see James pacing around the corridor.

James looked up. "What'd she do," he asked, worried.

Darla couldn't contain herself. She smiled bounced on her heels. "She said yes! She actually said yes! In about a month I'll be a real Gryffindor! Then nobody will glare at me when I sit with you, or tease me, or anything!"

"If they do then Freddie and I will hex them into next week," James promised. He bent down and wrapped his arms around Darla.

Darla held her breath and went stiff. "James…what are you doing," she asked, nervously.

James let go of her and raised an eyebrow. "Giving…you a hug?"

"Okay…why?"

James furrowed his brow and stood back up. "C'mon kid, you're acting like you've never been hugged before." He paused and stared down at her. "Oh, Merlin, you've never been hugged before!"

"No one has ever had a reason to," Darla explained.

"Your mum and dad never hugged you?"

Darla searched through her memory. Her mother hadn't been well enough to really hug her and her father was usually far too busy. "Well, no, not really. I think Daddy may have hugged me once or twice, but it's not really that big of a deal. It's not something that people do a lot."

"Yes it is." James ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Am I going to have to teach you how to hug?" He smirked.

Darla took a step back. "No, no, no, I don't think that will be necessary. In fact, that's the opposite of what's necessary. We should spend our time now trying to find Freddie and—"

James scooped Darla up into his hands and held her to his chest. Her arms were pinned by her side and her feet didn't come close to touching the ground.

"Ahh! Down! Down! Down!"

"Nope," James said as he carried her through the corridor. "This is what an amazing hug is like."

"I can't breathe…"

"You don't need to breathe." James paused. "Oh, wait, yeah you do…" He sat Darla on the ground and ruffled her hair. "You're a Gryffindor now, you need to learn how to hug."

Darla didn't think that one of Gryffindors attributes was 'has the ability to hug'. She tried to point this out to James, but he just shook his head and told her that she would learn soon enough.

"Where are we going," she asked as they turned down yet another corridor.

James grinned. "Like you said, we need to find Freddie. I know where Freddie is and that's where we're going."

"Alright…so, where are we going?"

"To the place where Freddie is."

"And where is Freddie?"

"He's at the place we're going to."

Darla realized that James was going to continue being unbearable and decided that she had better stop asking before she got too frustrated. She followed him through the Great Hall and the down a long staircase. They stopped in front of a large painting of a bowl of fruit.

"This is the place where Freddie is," James explained, smiling.

Darla raised an eyebrow. "So, Freddie is now giant fruit? Noted."

James laughed and reached up. "Watch and learn, little one." He ran his hand along the giant pear and tickled it.

The pear squirmed a bit and then transformed into a little green handle. James smiled back at Darla, opened the painting and motioned for her to follow him.

Wordless, Darla followed. Her eyes got wide as she climbed through the door. The room was as tall as the Great Hall and, like the Great Hall, had four long tables exactly where the ones in the Great Hall were. Darla watched as at least a hundred House-Elves scurried around. Darla's jaw dropped and she looked around.

Freddie was sitting in a chair a few feet away, shoving a pastry into his mouth.

"Welcome to the kitchens, Darla. Freddie and I figured this out our second year. It's real handy to make friends with the House-Elves. They can get you food and they're the only ones who can apparate inside Hogwarts."

Darla blinked several times, still rather amazed by what she was seeing.

"Sometimes I swear Amicussio can apparate," Freddie said, with words muffled by the pastry in his mouth. "He just comes up then 'poof' he's gone."

"Don't be ridiculous," James said, taking a seat near Freddie. "He can't apparate on Hogwarts ground."

"He could if he was a House-Elf," Darla pointed out.

"That's because House-Elves use a different kind of Magic. That's why they can apparate," James explained. He reached down and pulled Darla into his lap, holding onto her like she was a very smile child.

Darla sighed. "I can sit by myself, James," she told him and rolled her eyes.

"I don't believe that one bit. You're small and you're my Hedge-Pixie. My Gryffindor Hedge-Pixie."

Freddie nearly choked on his pastry. "Wha-what was that?"

James, quite happily, told Freddie exactly what Darla had told him.

"I don't believe it," Freddie said and shook his head. "This calls for a mini celebration!" He looked down at one of the House-Elves. "Can I get a few more pastries?"

"Please," Darla said, shooting a glare at Freddie.

Freddie shrugged as the House-Elf scurried away to fetch more pastries. "You don't have to say 'please' to a House-Elf, Darla, they like this sort of thing."

"It's still polite," Darla said. "And, it's nice to be polite to creatures like House-Elves, considering they, unlike wizards, are usually treated with very little kindness."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "You sound _exactly_ like my Aunt Hermione, right now. It's really kind of annoying."

"I think it's adorable," James said.

Darla didn't think she was being annoying or adorable, she thought she was being perfectly logical. "Well, some of us know what it's like to be treated unfairly and unkindly. I don't think that anyone or anything should ever be made to feel like that."

Her mini speech shut Freddie up. He actually thanked the House-Elf that brought him a plate of pastries.

Darla smiled a bit and leaned back against James. She really didn't care too much about the mini celebration that was happening around her, she was still wondering about Albus. Would people still hate her now that she was a Gryffindor? Or, would they at least hate her a little less? On the plus side, she wouldn't have to deal with Scorpius any more.

James managed to convince one House-Elf to break out a couple bottles of Butterbeer. The House-Elf, Darla noticed, seemed like he knew James fairly well. She decided it was just because James visited the kitchen so often.

Darla discovered that she quite liked the taste of Butterbeer; it made her feel warm and made her head slightly swimmy. She rubbed her eyes and leaned against James's chest. After her third or fourth bottle most of her worries had faded away. She didn't care that she didn't understand Albus, she didn't care that Scorpius hated her, in fact, she really didn't care about much of anything.

"You're warm," she muttered.

"And you're tipsy," James said with a chuckle. "It's getting fairly late; we'd better get you back to your common room."

Draco groaned. "Does that involve moving?"

"Only a little on your part," James assured her. He stood up and held Darla close. "D'aw, look at her, Freddie, doesn't she look all harmless and innocent right now?"

"She is harmless and innocent," Freddie noted.

"Now she is. Wait until the end of the semester, we'll have corrupted her mind by then. Tomorrow we'll start with operation Great Hall."

"An awesome prank like this deserves a much better name," Freddie said.

"Well, I'll come up with one." James sat Darla on the ground outside the Slytherin Common Room. "Get some sleep, Darla, we'll see you tomorrow."

Darla smiled, her eyes were starting to shut. "Alright, I'll see you at breakfast."

Freddie clapped her on the back. "I doubt you'll make it to breakfast, kid."

"We'll see," Darla muttered.

She gave the password and, a little unsteady, climbed into the Slytherin common room. It wasn't terribly late, it was only a little after eight. Most people were sitting around the common room. Erick Flint was bent over a table, apparently studying very hard, Scorpius sat beside him, muttering corrections to his work. Styx Sloper was stretched out in front of the fire, several of his 'friends' around him and a cat on his chest.

Albus looked up from his spot on the couch and rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's just you."

"Yep, just me," Darla said, a bit slurred.

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Are you drunk?"

Darla hadn't ever been drunk before, she didn't quite know if she had gotten drunk or not. "I don't think so…what's it like to be drunk?"

"You slur your speech and you can't walk."

"I can walk just fine."

WHAM. Darla went to take a step forward and managed to miss the floor with her foot, but she found it with the rest of her body. "Oh, okay, possibly then," she muttered. The stone floor, she discovered, was somewhat comfortable when you were drunk, and it was much closer than her bed.

"You're a first year," Albus exclaimed.

"A drunken first year," Styx called. "I'm a little impressed and a little jealous."

"A drunken thieving first year," Albus said, scandalized.

Darla rolled over to face Albus. "I'm not a thief, why would you say something like that?"

Albus pointed to the badge on her lapel. "You stole a Gryffindor badge. What? Did you take it from my brother when he wasn't looking?"

"Oh, that," Darla said and shook her head. She hadn't really thought too much about how she was supposed to tell people that she was a Gryffindor, she wasn't sure if she could make it make sense. Of course, in that state that she was in, that didn't really matter. "No, Professor McGonagall said I could be a Gryffindor now, well, officially in a month. Paperwork or work paper or owls or something, I don't know."

The common room fell silent. Scorpius looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"You're a…WHAT?"

"Oh, please don't yell," Darla muttered. She managed to pull herself into a sitting position against the couch. "I'm a Gryffindor now because I hate all of you." Had she been sober then Darla probably would have been a bit more careful about what she said, now, however, she didn't care too much. "And you all hate me. Merlin, I thought you'd be a bit happier."

"Guys, she's drunk," Styx said. "Let her sleep it off. She'll be back to normal –er- she'll be back to her old self tomorrow."

"I may be drunk, but in a month I'll be a Gryffindor," Darla said.

"Yes, yes, and I'm a piece of yellow tape," Styx said, helping Darla to her feet. "Now, why doesn't everyone stop obsessing over the weird first year and get back to whatever it is they were doing?"

"Because she came in here, drunk, fell to the ground and declared that she was a Gryffindor now," Erick said, covering his work with his arm. "And if she is and we're in here going over Quidditch plays—"

"She doesn't understand Quidditch anyway," Scorpius said. "Anyway, Styx is right, for once, let's stop focusing on her. She just wants the attention."

Attention was the last thing that Darla wanted. In fact, more than anything, she wanted for everyone in Slytherin to just leave her alone.

"Hoy, Kate, help her up to her room," Styx called.

A pretty fourth year girl trotted over. "Save me a seat by you," she asked, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just go."

Kate held Darla's arm and helped her up the stairs. She was staggering pretty bad at that point. Kate lay Darla down in the bed and brushed her hair back.

"Drink some water, that should help your hangover in the morning," she offered, gently.

Darla wasn't used to people in Slytherin being kind to her and she had no idea why Kate hadn't just dumped her and left. Though, she didn't think now was the time to question it. Darla rolled over, put her face in her pillow, and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Freddie had been right. Darla had overslept Sunday morning and managed to miss breakfast. It didn't matter too much; she managed to make it to lunch, though her head was absolutely pounding.

James had told her that they were putting off the prank, something about working out the bugs. Darla had asked what kind of bugs James was planning on using, but he just ruffled her hair, called her adorable, and went on.

Darla spent most of the next few days studying. During the day she found herself in the library with Lorcan and, sometimes, Lysander. Though Lysander rarely ever seemed to actually study, he was far too busy following a bug or staring at a blade of grass. However, she discovered that Lorcan was slightly more normal. He was quiet, which she liked. Neither of them spoke very often when they studied. It seemed like the start of a wonderful friendship. She found that the best time to study was after everyone else had gone to bed. During one of her late night study sessions she discovered that the House-Elves would come to clean the common room. While they cleaned, Darla would entertain them with long rambles about whatever she happened to be studying, or, sometimes, the recent regulations passed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures about the welfare of House-Elves. None of them seemed particularly interested in what she had to say, but Darla assured herself that, like her, they needed a bit of kindness.

With the help of James and Freddie, Darla saw her grades in Charms improving. Things seemed to be going quite well for her and she hardly had anything to complain about when she wrote to her father.

It was three weeks later that Darla had anything to complain about.

It was a very sunny and warm Thursday. Darla sat at breakfast with James, her Gryffindor badge pinned proudly on her Slytherin robes.

"So, that's how I got this scar," James said, showing Darla a scar on his forearm.

Darla shook her head and started eating her toast. "Really, James, you fell off your broom and into a goal post? I say Quidditch is dangerous and I will never get on a broom."

Freddie laughed and leaned back in his seat. "Funny thing that, from what I hear all the first years have flying class tomorrow afternoon."

Darla nearly choked. "We have what?" She coughed and shook her head. "No, no way, they can't force me onto a broomstick."

"Yeah they can. It's a class. You don't want to fail, do you," James asked.

Darla wasn't anywhere near failing any of her other classes, except maybe charms, but she certainly didn't want to fail. "No, but I don't want a lot of other things either. Broken bones, bruises, cracked ribs, scars, blood, or death, those are all things that I hate."

James shrugged. "You won't die. Flying is perfectly safe."

"Yeah, it's the falling you have to look out for," Freddie added.

The usual swarm of owl flew into the Great Hall. Darla continued to pout.

"I don't want to fly and I don't want to fall. Do you think that if I have a panic attack they'll let me skip class?"

"Just do it, Darla, it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. Just buck up. You never know, you might even enjoy it."

Darla was quite certain that James was wrong on that. Before she had the chance to respond, however, a large eagle owl landed beside her and Darla jumped.

"Damn it, Nip! What're you doing here?"

James raised an eyebrow. "I think he has you a letter."

"You get it off of him," Darla exclaimed. "I hate that stupid bird."

"You won't fly and you're afraid of owls," Freddie said and raised his brow. "I'm starting to think you're not a real witch."

Darla groaned and stared at Nip. "No, I'm not afraid of owls, just that one. That owl is evil, I swear it is. It's the worst owl ever, it's made out of bad!"

"I'll get your letter," James said, rolling his eyes. He reached and untied the letter. "See, he's not so – OW!"

Nip reached down and bit James's wrist. It wasn't a loving an affectionate little nip. A few drops of blood slip down James's hand.

"That owl is evil!"

Darla shrugged and unrolled her letter. "I warned you. He's Nip and he's the devil."

"He stole my toast," Freddie muttered as Nip flew away.

"What part of 'that owl is the Devil' did you not understand?" Darla grinned. "Oh, my Daddy wrote to me! My Daddy wrote to me and I'm didn't even get into trouble. I'm happy, this is my happy face!"

James smiled and ruffled Darla's hair. "'Course he wrote you, he's your Da."

Darla didn't even try to explain that she and her father didn't have the most loving relationship in the world. Instead, she focused on the letter.

_Dear Darla,_

_ It's strange, I seem to remember saying in my last letter that I didn't want to receive anymore letters from your Headmistress. Imagine my surprise when I get an owl containing, what else, a letter from Professor McGonagall._

_ Assuming that this was concerning yet another 'prank' I read the letter. I honestly don't even know what I'm supposed to say about this. I always assumed that you would take after your mother and be in Slytherin and enjoy it. Frankly, it wouldn't bother me if you were a Hufflepuff, it's your life, not mine. I cannot, however, speak for your mother. Though I certain that she would be—_

Darla stopped reading and her smile fell from her face. She tore the letter in half, then tore the two pieces in half.

"Stupid," she nearly screamed. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!"

Freddie and James both turned to stare at Darla as she ripped the letter apart.

Finally, the parchment was torn into bits small enough that Darla was satisfied and she threw them into her bowl of porridge.

"Uh…" James reached out as though to pat Darla on the back, then thought better of it and drew his hand back. "Everything okay," he asked, stupidly.

Darla pushed her chair back and threw her bag over her shoulder. She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. "One should not invoke the name of the dead," she said in a frighteningly calm voice. Without another word, Darla strode off as though to go to her Potions class.

However, she did not go to potions class. Instead, she went to the second floor and hid in the girl's bathroom. Darla gripped the sides of the sink and hung her head, tears dripped down off her nose and into the sink. Darla took several deep and shaky breaths, trying very hard to regain her composure.

"Who the hell does he think he is," Darla screamed, her voice cracking and echoing off the bathroom walls. "He has no right, no right at all, to tell me what my mother would or would not think!" She stopped screamed and put her head in her hands. "He doesn't even care. I might as well be a ghost!"

"Oh, why don't you just rub it in a little more? I couldn't quite hear you," someone behind Darla wailed.

Darla turned around and sighed. She was quite used to seeing ghost at this point. The girl was obviously older than Darla when she'd died, though probably not by much. She was short and squat with long lanky hair and glasses. Her glum expression challenged even Darla's.

"I wasn't talking about you," Darla muttered, turning back to the sink. "I don't even know you. Why would I talk about someone I don't even know?"

The Ghost Girl floated downward and sat, cross-legged, on the sink beside Darla. "I don't know," she said. "But they do. Mopey Myrtle, crying alone in her bathroom," she sighed deeply as she spoke.

"Well, I won't talk badly about you," Darla promised as she wiped her eyes. "People talk about me all the time, and not in a very nice way, and I don't want anyone to feel like I feel most of the time. It's awful."

Myrtle gave Darla a curious look. "You're lying to me, aren't you? You're just making fun of me!"

Darla sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm not. You can't take everything I say as an insult. Maybe that's why no one likes you, you don't let anyone like you."

Myrtle puffed her chest out. "You're awful," she shrieked before flying upwards.

There was a very loud splash that told Darla the Ghost girl had gone down into one of the toilets.

Myrtle didn't come back out, though, Darla could hear her sobbing loudly from somewhere in the pipes. Darla felt that she was now too angry to cry. It went in stages, she quickly discovered. First she got upset, then she got angry, then she was alright for a little while, and then she would get angry all over again. She didn't mind that she had missed Charms class. Even though she was getting better at Charms she still hated the class with a passion.

Darla kicked the sink, the sink showed no signs of damage so she kicked it again. She wanted to break something, breaking things always made her feel better. Unfortunately, the only think that might have broken was her foot. The sink seemed to be perfectly stable and perfectly unwilling to break.

Finally, at lunch time, Darla dried her eyes, grabbed her bags, and headed out of the bathroom. She figured that, even though she was still very much on the verge of tears, four hours in the bathroom was long enough. She was a little unsteady on her feet, but she managed to make it down to the Great Hall. Darla took her usual seat beside James, and put her head down on the table.

James gently ran his hand through her hair. "Buck up, buttercup," he encouraged.

"My Daddy is being a Dark Wizard," she explained, using James's usual insult.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we've got all the bugs in our plan worked out."

Darla looked up. Though her eyes were still red and puffy they managed to hold a bit a malicious gleam. "Go on…"

"It's real simple," Freddie took over. "See, I'm going to go to the Owlery and get a sack full of owls—"

"A _sack_ full of owls," Darla said, her voice oddly high.

"Shh, yes, a sack full of owls," Freddie said, lowering his voice. "Now, here's where you come in. You'll get a sack full of mice."

"Where is a little girl going to find a bag full of mice on a school night?"

Freddie shrugged. "That's why it's your job. James and I tried for days to find a bag full of mice. No such luck."

Darla thought about this for a moment. She had no idea what the actual plan was, but she knew better than to ask. "Alright…."

"Good, so, find your bag of mice before dinner and meet me outside the Great Hall. Don't actually go to dinner, but come down halfway through dinner. Then you'll get to see…well, you'll get to see part of the fun."

"Alright, I'll try and find a, uh, bag of mice," Darla said, wondering where in the world she was supposed to find such a thing. In her experience, people didn't often leave bags of mice just lying around.

James stood up and ran his hand through his hair. "Alright, Hedge-Pixie, I'll walk you on to class, alright?"

"Aren't you coming, Freddie," Darla asked as she followed James's lead and got up.

James smirked. "Freddie is trying to catch up with a girl," he whispered into Darla's ear. "Pretty little third year Ravenclaw girl. It's cute when he's in love, but, it's better not to bother him."

Darla wouldn't have minded seeing the girl that Freddie found so infatuating. But, James was leading her out of the Great Hall, so she didn't get a chance to look.

"So," James said as they walked through the corridor. "This is a little embarrassing, me being older than you and all."

Darla looked up, her eyes wide.

"Well…" James laughed awkwardly and ran his hair through his hair, as though he was intentionally trying to make it messy. "So, the way I hear it, you're pretty much a super genius when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Art."

Feeling her cheeks flood with colour, Darla stared down at her shoes. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm a 'super genius'. It's really just that I've read a lot of books. See, Daddy likes to study a lot and we have a library full of books that—"

"You're rambling," James told her. "Look, I just want to know what you know about werewolves. I have to write a paper before class this afternoon, I need something to put in it."

"That's very specific, James," Darla groaned.

From what she had read, Darla knew quite a lot about werewolves. She was fairly certain that she couldn't cover everything she knew about them in the three minute walk to class.

James shrugged. "Well, just tell me what you know."

Sighing, Darla decided to delve into the subject. "Werewolves, or, lycanthropes as—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't need all the different translations."

"Alright. Well, werewolves are created, first of all, not born. They're created—"

"Yeah, biting, I know," James said, rather impatiently.

"Well," Darla said, her voice shaking slightly. She wasn't sure what to tell him when he didn't tell her what he needed to know. "Trans-transformation occurs, um, the day before, of, and after the full moon."

James shook his head and groaned. "Yeah, I know that, let's speed it up a bit, Darla." He sounded more than a little agitated.

Darla crossed her arms and gripped her elbows. "Well, this would be easier if you told me what you needed to know! You just told me to tell you what I know, and I know a bit about werewolves!" She didn't know why James had gotten aggravated or where she had gone wrong. "You can't just tell me to tell you what I know and then get annoyed because I'm not telling you fast enough!"

James looked down at her.

"And-and you just expect me to know exactly what is it you need you know. Excuse me for not being a mind reader," she went on.

"Oh, Merlin…did I just break you," James asked, raising his brow.

Darla stopped ranting and rubbed her face with her hands. Maybe she was still a bit on edge, and she knew that she shouldn't take her aggression out on James. "Maybe I am just an insufferable know-it-all like everyone says," she snapped. Darla stormed away in a huff.

She knew she wasn't actually angry with James. Right now she just needed someone to be angry at, and James was there. Darla slid into her seat and put her head down on her desk. Defense Against the Dark Arts was usually her favourite subject, but right then she was just ready for the day to be over. She still had History of Magic to deal with.

"Where is everyone," Professor Amicussio asked as he strolled into class.

"Dawdling," Darla answered, simply.

Professor Amicussio sat his briefcase down on the table. "What's got you all mopey today, Miss Nott?"

Darla shrugged. "I need to find a sack full of mice," she told him, not wanting to go into the real issues.

"Okay…" he said slowly. "And, why do you need a sack full of mice?"

"To feed to owls, I assume." Darla really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with the mice. "They're for James."

"Ah, I see you two have rekindled your friendship," Professor Amicussio said, happily. "Well, in that case, I might be able to help you with your mouse problems. When do you need them by?"

Darla wasn't even going to ask why Professor Amicussio had a sack of mice, she was fairly certain that she didn't really want to know. "Um, dinner…."

Professor Amicussio nodded. "Alright, well, they'll be in a cage, not a sack. I hope that's alright."

"James said a sack…"

"Well, they can chew their way out of a sack," Professor Amicussio explained. "It's much better to get them in a cage."

Darla thought it was strange that James and Freddie had had such a hard such a hard time finding mice. She had managed to do it in a matter of minutes.

History of Magic seemed to drag on. Darla sat in the classroom, half asleep, staring at the clock. She was almost certain that time travelled differently in this classroom. Darla was grateful when class was finally over. Even though she had only been to two classes, she was feeling exhausted. She trudged down toward the Slytherin Common Room, wishing that she would hurry up and get transferred out.

"Heard you had some sort of fit at the breakfast table today, Darling."

Darla cringed as Scorpius came up behind her. She held her books tight to her chest and continued walking, refusing to as much as look at her cousin.

Scorpius put his hand on Darla's shoulder. It didn't feel nearly as reassuring as when James held her shoulder. "C'mon, Darling, what happened? 'Daddy dearest' forget you existed again? Or did her bring up your dear Mummy?"

Naturally, Scorpius knew exactly how to press Darla's buttons. She put her head down and dug her nails into the cover of her book. "Shut up, Scorpius," she muttered.

Scorpius smirked and tightened his grip on Darla's shoulder. "You know, maybe that's why you like to set people on fire and such, you never had a proper mother to tell you that it was rude."

Darla stopped walking.

"Aw, did I strike a bit of a nerve, Darling?"

If Darla had been acting logically at all then she never would have even considered pulling her wand out. Scorpius, by far, knew more magic that she did. She might understand the principal better, but he knew how to handle his wand. Still, Darla found herself whipping around to point her wand at Scorpius's throat.

She had managed to pick up a few spells from James and Freddie. "_Inci-"_

"_Expelliarmus,"_ Scorpius said, quickly.

Darla's wand flew out from her hand and Scorpius caught it in midair. He twirled it around in his fingers.

"What is this, Hawthorne?" He looked the wand over for a minute. "Hawthorne, no more than seven or eight inches, that probably means you're not going to get much taller."

Darla was almost certain that that was not what that meant.

"What's the core?"

Darla swallowed. "Dragon Heart-string," she said, quietly. "Can I have it back now?"

Scorpius laughed dryly. "Have it back," he repeated and raised an eyebrow. "That's a laugh, Darling. You try to hex me and you want me to give you your wand back? You seem to forget that you _set me on fire_ before school started," his voice lost any trace of humour. Darla knew this tone of voice. Scorpius was, in fact, quite angry.

"C'mon, Scorp," she said, trying very hard to be casual with him. "I need it for class. Besides, if you don't give it back to me then I'll have to write to Uncle Draco and tell him that—"

Darla was cut off when the back of Scorpius's hand landed on her cheek. She didn't cry out, she knew better than to scream and draw attention from a teacher. Instead, her hand went to her warm cheek.

"Don't threaten me, little girl," he warned her. He took a step forward and glared down at her. "Believe me when I say that if you do write to my father then you'll be wishing that I was slapping you." He considered her for just a moment. "Remember what I told you when you first got here? You're still nothing. You may have a friend that's older than you, but that doesn't mean you matter to anyone else. And, if you don't start listening to me and showing me a touch more respect then things will only get worse for you. So, when I say 'jump' you don't say 'no', you say 'how high'. When I say 'listen to me' you don't say anything, you listen. If I tell you to do something then you'll do something, otherwise things will get much, much worse for you. Understand?"

Darla didn't want to agree with him, she didn't want to do anything that her cousin asked her to do. But, she was alone in the corridor and she was wandless. So, she nodded and tried very hard not to cry.

"And even if you are, as you said before, a Gryffindor, you still have to live with us for a while. So, if I even think that James has heard anything about our little conversation…."

Scorpius didn't finish his sentence, he didn't need to. Darla had a pretty good idea of what would happen, and it wasn't going to be anything good.

"Un-understood," she managed to say, though her voice got caught in her throat.

Scorpius smirked. "Good girl. I'm glad we got to have this little chat and I hope that you really do understand."

Scorpius turned on his heel and walked down the corridors to the common room.

Darla held her cheek in her hand and leaned against the wall. She knew she had to go back into the common room eventually, she knew that she needed to get started on her homework. Still, a part of her wanted to never set foot in there again, not with Scorpius still existing. Darla couldn't remember ever hating someone before. Sure, she told her father she hated him all the time, but, then again, he'd never hit her and forced her to behave.

Finally, Darla decided to go to the library and get her homework done. It proved to be much more productive than she had assumed. By dinner time, she had already written her History of Magic essay and gotten a good start on her Potions essay.

Soon, she was waiting outside Professor Amicussio's office, nearly bouncing with anticipation for the prank she was preparing to help pull.

"Well, there you are."

Darla jumped as Professor Amicussio sneaked up behind her. "Don't do that," she said, breathlessly. She turned around to see Professor Amicussio holding a small cage filled with at least twenty mice.

Professor Amicussio looked her over and smiled. "You're a strange girl, Darla. I don't know why you would want a cage full of mice."

"I'm strange?" Darla raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the one who keeps a cage full of mice at all times."

"Well, I sometimes like to visit the Owlery and give treats to my little Micha." He held out the cage. "Now then, I'm in a bit of a hurry so, unfortunately, I can't stay for a chat."

Darla took the cage and peered in at the cage of mice. All of them seemed perfectly normal; all of them were sniffing around as though trying to find an escape. Well, almost all of them. A very small black mouse was staring up at the top where the cage opened. Darla looked at him for a moment, the mouse turned and looked at her as well.

"Professor," she said softly.

When Professor Amicussio didn't answer, Darla looked up. She found herself quite alone in the corridor. She had begun to realise that Professor Amicussio made a habit of being quick and sneaky.

By the time Darla got to the corridor outside the Great Hall dinner was almost a quarter of the way over. Freddie was leaning casually against the wall, a large box was sitting behind his legs.

Freddie opened his eyes and gave Darla a small smile. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it or not," he admitted. "James said the two of you got into it a bit, figured you'd back out on us."

Darla sat the cage of mice on the ground and avoided Freddie's eyes. "Yeah, well, I said I'd do it so I'm going to do it." Besides that, Darla had never exactly been angry with James, just a little frustrated.

"Good." Freddie looked down at the mice. "I'm not even going to ask how you managed to find so many rats. Let me tell James that you're here."

Freddie reached into his pocket and pulled out a galleon. Darla watched him curiously as he trapped the galleon with his wand.

"There we go," he told her, putting the galleon back in his pocket. "It's an old trick our dads told us about. The galleons are fakes."

Darla nodded and smiled a bit. "That's absolutely brilliant!"

"I know," he said, not at all modestly. "Alright, now we just wait for the signal and—damn! Grab your mice!"

Darla grabbed the cage and followed Freddie. All the candles that had illuminated the Great Hall had gone out, leaving the room shrouded in complete darkness. Girls were shrieking shrilly, boys were yelling, and Darla thought she heard Scorpius yell something along the lines of "my father will hear about this!"

"Alright," Freddie whispered. "Release the mice."

Without a second thought, Darla lifted the latch and let the terrified mice run through the Great Hall. She turned around in time to Freddie opening the box. At least two dozen owls flew out of the box and soared across the Great Hall.

At first, Darla didn't think that this was a very good prank. Didn't owls fly through the Great Hall every morning? Then she realised what was happening. The owls weren't as calm now as they were in the morning because they weren't delivering mail, they were _hunting_.

The owls were swooping down around the students, trying to catch the mice that Darla had realised. She smiled, enjoying the scene of complete bedlam for a moment. Then Freddie grabbed her arm.

"Now we run, now we run," he said, harshly, as he dragged Darla out of the Great Hall. "We don't usually have to run, but now we're running!"

Darla half ran and was half dragged away from the scene of the crime. She, personally, would have loved to have stopped and watched everything, but she didn't really have much of a choice. Adrenaline coursed through her, giving her the energy to run as fast as Freddie.

Finally, after running down several corridors and up several sets of stairs, Freddie stopped. He leaned, panting, against the wall. Looking over, he smiled at Darla.

"Alright, Darla, if anyone asks, you fell asleep in the library and I came to find you. When we got to the Great Hall you got scared, ran away, and I followed. Got it?"

Darla nodded and tried to catch her breath. They were close enough that they could still hear the screaming, and Darla found that oddly delightful. A few seconds later, James came jogging down the corridor. His lip was busted open and bleeding and there were several scratches down his arms.

"That. Was. Brilliant," he panted as he collapsed beside Darla and Freddie. "Oh man, I cannot believe that actually worked."

"I wasn't sure if you could get the lights," Freddie beamed. "But, oh man, once I heard the screaming I knew, man, I knew."

Darla didn't get the chance to explain how happy she was that the prank was successful. The Scamander twins came walking down the hallway. Lorcan was covered in scratched, by Lysander looked totally unharmed. He was holding his arm out and a very small grey owl was perched on it.

"I think he's delightful," Lysander was saying. "Besides, he was only doing what owls do and…look! It's our friend!"

Lorcan turned and looked over at Darla and smiled very slightly. "You missed all the fun in the Great Hall."

"I found an owl," Lysander exclaimed.

"I'm not surprised," Freddie groaned and rolled his eyes.

James looked at the twins and then looked at Darla, then back at the twins. "Freddie…did you slip something in my drink? I'm seeing double over here."

Darla laughed, but she was the only one who did. "Sorry, James. This is Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. They're twins and are, well, they're sort of friends of mine."

Lysander's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together, causing the owl on his arm to quickly fly away. Lysander watched it until it disappeared. "Well, I lost one friend but I've made two more," he said happily.

"Lysander," Lorcan said quickly. "I don't think you quite understand the meaning of the word 'friends'. You're ridiculous sometimes."

Darla thought this was a bit harsh, all things considered. James seemed to agree with her because he patted the ground next to him and grinned. "Aw, I don't see why you can't join us here. I mean, it's not like we're really doing anything and a trio can always use more people!"

It was possible that James had no clue what the word 'trio' meant, but no one was arguing with him. Lysander plopped himself down on the floor and crossed his legs, Lorcan sat down a bit more cautiously. After a few minutes of listening to James ramble on about Quidditch and pranks everyone started to relax a bit more. Lorcan told them about creatures his mother studied and no one made fun of Lysander when he talked about bugs he found or when he told them about interesting birds or cloud formations or animals he made up. Freddie looked a little sceptical, but he was far too amused to really mock Lysander. Darla smiled and laughed and felt, for the first time, like she was actually home.

Like all good things, this pleasant gathering had to come to an end. The light outside had faded and they all knew that if they were out in the corridors any longer than someone would give them detention. Since James, Freddie, and Darla had all just avoided detention they weren't too keen on setting themselves up.

Lysander stood there for a moment, a quizzical look on his face. "I have a question," he announced after everyone had said goodbye.

"I bet you do," James said and leaned back against the wall. After talking to Lysander he realized that he had no clue what might come out of the boy's mouth. "Well, shoot Ly."

Lysander cleared his throat and looked around at all of them. Usually when Darla saw him he was looking at something on the ground or on the ceiling, she had never seen him look directly at someone. "I know this may sound strange," he said as though he had never said anything strange before. "But, is there a chance that we'll all be friends?"

At that, James absolutely roared with laughter. He held his stomach and doubled over, ignoring the fact that everyone else was staring at him. Finally, he managed to get himself under control and he stood back up, wiping tears from his eyes. "Merlin's beard, I love this kid! Yes, sure, Ly. Maybe we'll hang out again sometime."

Again, no one questioned James. If they had then it might have made Lysander stop grinning like a git. "Wonderful. Well, we'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes," Darla agreed.

"See ya, Darla, bye twins," James and Freddie called.

"We're not 'the twins', we're two different people," Lorcan called back to him.

"Bye Queenie, bye James, bye Freddie, bye Lorcan," Lysander said, waving enthusiastically.

Lorcan took Lysander by the arm. "We're going to the same place, loon."

Everyone turned and went their separate ways. James with Freddie and Lysander with Lorcan, and Darla by herself. She couldn't wait until she changed houses, then she wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the dungeons by herself. The night had been wonderful and she was quite happy that Lysander and Lorcan were included, even if they were a bit strange. The night had been so nice, in fact, that Darla almost forgot that Scorpius still had her wand. A wave of despair washed over her. Of course Scorpius would fine _some_ way to ruin the best night of her life. She would need her wand for class in the morning. Darla approached the tapestry and gave the password before walking into the common room like she was in a funeral march.

"I seriously cannot believe that happened," Scorpius was saying when Darla walking into the common room.

Albus was sprawled out on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Malfoy, you've been saying that for well over an hour. It happened, get over it, believe it, it's really not that big or a deal."

Trying to relax a bit, Darla walked over toward the couches. "What happened," she asked innocently enough. Upon closer inspection she realized that both Albus and Scorpius were covered in scratches.

Scorpius looked up and rolled his eyes. "What, weren't you at dinner," he asked.

"No. I was with Freddie." It was true enough, she hadn't been at dinner, she was with Freddie. She just so happened to leave a few important details out. "Oh, and the Scamander twins and James, they were with us too. It was quite delightful."

"No one cares," Albus said in a sing-song voice.

"Alright, run along now, Darling," Scorpius said in a sickly sweet voice. "No one really wants you here, so skedaddle."

Darla rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have homework to finish anyway," she said and crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn't that she wanted Scorpius's company anyway. "I need my wand back, though."

At that, Scorpius burst into laugher, though it earned him a quizzical look from Albus. "Really? Really? Um, no? Give me one good reason to do that."

"I need it for class." That, to Darla, seemed like a very good reason. In fact, it seemed like that should be the only reason she really needed.

Again, Scorpius just laughed. He reached into his robe pockets and pulled out what Darla immediately recognized as her wand. "This is what you want? Why don't you come over here and get it?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Darla knew better than to actually try and get her wand back from Scorpius, luckily she really didn't have to worry about. Mars Zabini, looking casual and annoyed walked behind the couch and wordlessly grabbed the wand from Scorpius's had.

"Hey," Scorpius exclaimed and looked back. "Zabini! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mars smirked and crossed his arms. "I'm Head Boy, Malfoy, that's what the hell is wrong with me. Besides, you shouldn't pick on little girls. Especially this one."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch. "What're you going to do? Give me detention?"

"That seems like it would be a lot of effort on my part, Malfoy," Mars explained as he handed Darla back her wand. "I'll just settle for threatening you for now." He narrowed his eyes, Darla had never noticed before how blue they were. "Don't tease little girls."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and looked up at Mars. "Oh really? Any particular reason that this loser of a girl is important to you? Merlin, Mars, you're a sixth year, you'd think you could have a crush on someone a little older."

Without warning, Mars smacked the back of Scorpius's head so hard that Scorpius had tears in his eyes. "Don't be stupid, if you can help it. I don't have a crush on a first year. Just leave her alone." He turned his stony gaze toward Darla. "Why don't you run along upstairs?"

"Thank you, Mars," Darla squeaked out before hurrying up the steps. She didn't know why Mars had stepped in to protect her, and he had said 'especially this one'. Once she opened her dormitory door, though, all her thoughts about Mars vanished.

"And it's just, like, they're always so weird. Like, what the hell are Wrackspurts?" Prima giggle and rolled her eyes.

Darla put her bag down on the bed and narrowed her eyes. "They're little bug like creatures that fly around your head and make your brain all fuzzy," she explained. Once during Charms, Lysander had explained all these bizarre creatures to her. Darla was certain that at least half of them were just made up.

Cassia Bole looked over at Darla as though she had just interrupted something very important. She snarled her lip and crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you actually believe in these things, Nott. Merlin, you're as weird as the Scamander twins."

"I never said that." Darla didn't believe in most of what Lysander said, but he was still her friend and she had to defend him, and she didn't like Cassia calling the twins weird. "Also, Lorcan and Lysander are absolutely brilliant. I doubt someone like you could realize that though," she snapped as she dug through her bag for her History of Magic book.

Galla looked up and looked around at everyone, as though she was trying to decide if she should speak or not. "Um, once Lorcan helped me with my Potions homework. Professor Bane gave me a really good grade on it and everything…."

Avita turned and looked at her friend and shrugged. "They're not that bad, I guess. I mean, you know, for Ravenclaws."

At that, Darla laughed and leaned back with her textbook. "Oh, that's why you actually hate them," she said with a smile. It was just like with Freddie, she realized, and it was just as stupid. "Because they're not in Slytherin? That's stupid. Freddie used to hate me because I was in Slytherin, but we've mostly worked past that."

Darla was hoping that that would shut everyone up or that it would at least cause them to think. Of course, it didn't. It just caused Cassia and Prima to turn and glare at her.

"Oh really," Prima said, smirking. "Then why do we hate you so much?"

There was no answer to that, Darla knew it. Quietly, she opened her book and started working on her homework, trying not to look too upset. The other girls went back to giggling and talking about who they thought was weird, or hot, she heard them mention James when they talked about who was annoying. Darla managed to keep her mouth shut and kept herself from nearly crying by going over the events of the night in her head, the good parts. Talking to Professor Amicussio, pranking with Freddie, listening to Lysander talk about how he would rather be a bat than a butterfly, and Lorcan rolling his eyes and talking about something relatively sensible, when she was with them everything was perfect.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was bright and the air was only slightly chilly. Darla stood out on the Quidditch Pitch between Prima and a Hufflepuff boy named Justin. She wasn't looking at any of the people, though, she was staring blankly at the broomstick on the ground. Sure, it looked harmless, it looked like it was just a broom, but Darla didn't think it was harmless at all. It wasn't just a broom. It was a door, a door that, once open, would lead to pain, broken bones, bruises, and possibly even death.

The Professor stood in front of them. She was a pretty girl, probably around the same age as Darla's father. Her black hair was pulled back out from her tanned face. "Hello," she greeted them, cheerfully.

"Hi mum," Justin called, waving excitedly.

Professor Corner smiled a bit. "Hello, Justin," she said with a sigh. "Now, today you're going to be learning to fly. You won't master it all in one day, but you certainly will be getting off the ground. Once you're able to fly then you can think about joining your House Quidditch team," she explained. "Now, a couple of rules. No showing off—Justin—no going too high, no chasing each other, no pushing, and please don't make fun of anyone if they don't get it the first time." She smiled and looked at the broom on the ground in front of her. "Now, to get your broom you just hold out your hand and say 'up broom!" Her broom flew straight up into her hand. "Now, everyone else try."

At the same time everyone, except Darla, said the words. Justin's broom went straight to his hands, Prima's broom flopped on the ground. A couple of people managed to get their brooms, and several people's brooms simply rolled over. After about ten minutes of work everyone, aside from Darla and one Hufflepuff boy, had their brooms in their hands.

"Are you having some problems," Professor Corner asked, looking down at Darla.

Darla crossed her arms and looked down at the broom. "I'm not getting on that death trap," she said sternly. She could walk, and walking had taken her a couple of years to perfect, she wanted to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground and stick with what she knew.

Professor Corner smiled slightly. "It's not a death trap, dear. It's just a broom."

"Maybe to you. Maybe you look at it and see a broom, but when I look at it I see an evil device designed to main, seriously injure, or kill little girls like me. People are not birds, Professor, we have little reason to fly. If we were meant to fly then we would have been born with wings! Really, this is more like torture than a class!"

Despite Darla's outright refusal to even try, Professor Corner didn't flinch. She kept smiling. "Alright, dear, well, maybe once you see the other kids fly you'll want to try it too. Until then, you and Mister Smith can watch while the rest of the class learns."

Darla hated the way she phrased with. 'While the rest of the class learns'. She made sound as though Darla didn't want to learn or anything. Well, she didn't _want_ to learn to fly. Feeling a bit defeated, Darla slumped on the grass next to a tanned blonde boy with a long face who she assumed was Mister Smith.

"I'm making a flower necklace," he told her and held up a long string of flowers he had tied together.

"That's great," Darla said and rolled her eyes. She looked out at the pitch. Prima was actually a fairly good flier, though she couldn't compete with Justin who was breaking the first rule of no showing off. Justin was diving at the ground and then pulling up just before he smacked into it. Darla had to admit, it was fairly impressive.

"I'm Adam," the boy told her as he put more flowers on his chain.

Since there was really nothing better to do, Darla figured she might as well talk to the boy. "I'm Darla," she told him and lay down on the grass. "So, do you think that flying is just a clever way for them to kill us or what?"

Adam shrugged and concentrated on his flower chain. "I'm afraid of heights. Flying seems like it would involve heights. If I flew I'm positive I would get horribly sick, and I don't wanna get horribly sick."

This seemed, to Darla, to be a perfectly logical reason. "Me too," she agreed, though she was more afraid of breaking something important. For most of class, Darla worked on her Charms homework. She practised with her wand a bit.

"Here, let me help you," Adam said suddenly. He must have finished his necklace, because he seemed a lot more focused now.

Darla looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "I can do it myself," she told him, even though she knew she did, in fact, need help when it came to Charms.

Adam didn't take no for an answer. He pulled out his own wand and gave it a very small flick. "Lumos," he said, his voice much stronger than before. The tip of his wand lit up, Darla could see it even in the bright sun. Adam gave his wand a small wave. "Nox." The little light went out. "You're over exaggerating the wave. It just has to be slightly, use your wrist, not your whole arm."

After a few tries, the tip of Darla's wand lit up. She smiled and childishly clapped her hands. "Wow, I actually managed to do it. Charms is my worst subject! Nox." With another little flick of her wand the light went out.

For the rest of class she and Adam talked about classes they hated and classes they liked. Since Adam was no good at Potions Darla offered to help him sometime, he had helped her and she felt like she owed him something. The agreed to meet in the library sometime next week. When class was over they walked up to the castle together, laughing about how odd other people were for actually wanting to fly. The rest of the class was talking about how amazing flying was and how they wanted to one day join a Quidditch team.

"Oh, here," Adam said once they were back inside. He slipped the flower chain over Darla's neck. "I don't have anyone else to give it to and I'm not going to wear it."

Darla smiled. It was, by far, the ugliest thing that Darla had ever seen in her entire life. Still, it was a nice gesture and she couldn't refuse. "Thanks, Adam."

Adam grinned a bit. "Well, see ya," he called before he took off at a run down the corridor.

People were strange. Darla had realized this and she had accepted it. Sometimes, she was starting to realize, strange people were also nice people. Darla wanted to find James and ask him about it, but she figured she would have to wait until dinner. Until then, Darla decided to go back to the common room and relax a bit.

She wasn't the only one who decided to retire until dinner. Cassia sat up in the dormitory, her Defense Against the Dark Arts book in front of her. She stared at the page with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "This. Is. Pointless," she declared to no one in particular.

Darla rolled her eyes. "The essay about Merpeople? That's not pointless, it's actually very important if you plan on being anywhere near the water."

Cassia looked up and crossed her arms. "Well, Nott, if you know so much about the subject then why don't you write it?"

"I already finished mine," Darla said, a bit confused. She didn't quite understand what Cassia meant. Of course she was going to write it, she had to for class.

With a small, dry laugh, Cassia got up and dumped her book, parchment, and quill onto Darla's bed. "No, Hen, I mean write it for me. Write my essay for me. Merlin, you're so stupid sometimes."

It wasn't Cassia wanting Darla to do her homework for her that bothered Darla so much. It was the name. Darla looked up and stared at her for a moment. "My name is Darla," she informed her, not sure if she knew of not. After all, most people seemed to call her Nott.

"No, Hen, it's a nickname," Cassia told her. "Because you're all afraid to fly or whatever. A Hen is a girl chicken, duh. We call that Hufflepuff boy Rooster."

"A chicken isn't afraid to fly, Cassia," Darla told her, annoyed that she had to explain such things. "It can't fly. I thought everyone knew that. Then again, you aren't exactly known for your academic achievements."

Cassia simply rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. "I'll let you know when I actually care. Just do my essay for me by Monday, Hen."

"You're a fool," Darla muttered under her breath.

On that note, Cassia turned around and stormed back over to the bed. "I'm the fool," she asked, unable to contain her anger well. "Honestly, Nott, one would think that you would have noticed by now that you're the fool. You think that you can go around calling people names or calling them stupid?"

Darla raised an eyebrow. "Because I can," she pointed out. It wasn't like there was anything restricting her from being able to call anyone anything.

"Everyone hates you, you know that, right?"

"James and Freddie don't."

"They hardly count. See, everyone else here hates them almost as much as they hate you."

With a sigh, Darla shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't going to give Cassia the pleasure of getting the better of them. Someone had to conceal their emotions, otherwise it would just turn into a brawl. "Whatever," she muttered under her breath.

Cassia looked like she was ready to storm away again, then she seemed to get a much better idea. She reached down and picked something up off Darla's pillow. "Ew," she said, scrunching up her nose. "What is this _thing?"_

It took a moment for Darla to realize what that 'thing' was. The moment she did all the colour in her face drained and what composure she had vanished. "Give that back," she said quickly, attempting to grab Prowly back.

Cassia laughed and held the owl up out of Darla's reach. "What is it?" Cassia grabbed on of Prowly's wing and gave it a sharp tug. The owl was already falling apart and, though the wing didn't fall off, Darla heard the stitches rip.

Darla blinked back tears and tried not to panic. "It's nothing, it's just a stupid old owl." She knew that if Cassia thought that the owl meant anything then she would be much, much worse.

"Just a stupid old owl," she repeated and looked at it. "Then maybe we should just throw it away, huh?"

Darla jumped off the bed, feeling as though she couldn't control herself. "No! No, do-don't do that!"

Cassia smiled. "So, tell me, Hen, what is it?"

"It's a stuffed Owl, Cassia."

"I know that much, stupid. Why does is it here?"

Darla took a deep breath and tried not to cry. "Because it's mine! Give him back!"

Cassia laughed again. "Oh, it's a he, is it?"

"Yes," Darla hissed, anger taking over most of her fear. Cassia was definitely making fun of her and she really didn't like it at all. "He's a he and my Momma gave him to me, now give him back!"

"Aww," Cassia said, mockingly. "Your mummy gave him to you, did she? Is your mother as pathetic as you, Hen?"

Something seemed to come over Darla. She wasn't angry anymore and she wasn't upset, she wasn't even thinking about Prowly at this point. All she could think about in that moment was what Cassia had just said. She moved forward and, ignoring the fact that she was about half as big as Cassia, pushed her backwards causing the girl to stumble a bit. "You stupid bint," she snapped, managing to tear Prowly away from the girl during the moment of confusion. "My momma is dead."

Cassia stopped and stared at Darla as though looking at her for the first time. "Really," she asked, calming down a bit.

Darla crossed her arms, protecting Prowly. She knew that she shouldn't have let that slip out, she didn't exactly want people to know that her mother wasn't around. She had learned long ago that when people found out things like that it led to pity and she didn't want to see that look in people's eyes ever again. Death wasn't pretty, but the worst part, by far, was the after effects. People never looked at you the same. "Yes, I wouldn't lie about having a dead mother, stupid. Just don't tell anyone, got it?"

"I won't…"

Darla shook her head and turned to leave the dormitory. She distantly heard Cassia say something along the lines of 'it doesn't make you any less pathetic' but she really didn't care. She walked down and slumped down on the couch in the common room, staring into the fire as though she were in a trace. It had been a stupid fight and Darla knew that if she had just kept her mouth shut then none of it would have happened. Still, she was a bit proud that she had finally stood up for herself.

"Oh, we've got a major case of self pity going on right here, haven't we?

Darla barely looked up. "Hiya, Mars," she said miserably and stared back at the fire.

Mars sat down and stretched his arms across the back of the couch. "Hmm, is the fire all that interesting, Nott," he asked as he too gazed into the flame. "I'm almost certain that there's something better you could be doing than staring at a fire."

"Sorry, Mars, but I'm really not in the mood to talk," she told him and held tight to Prowly. If she wanted to talk to anyone then she would have gone to find James or Freddie or even Styx. Mars hadn't been cruel to her, he had actually helped her not too long ago, still they weren't exactly friends.

"Good, because I'm a terrible listener." Mars didn't leave, he didn't even get up off the couch. "But, I mean, our parents were kind of friends. Or, at least, my dad says so. Of course, he said it was always really hard to talk to your father, apparently he was really standoffish."

"I can't argue with that. Sorry, I'm really not feeling up to talking about my family either."

"You need to stop apologizing for everything, Nott." With that, Mars did get up and offered her a small smile. "I hear you're supposed to be a Gryffindor soon, is it true?"

Darla sighed and relaxed a bit, now feeling as though Prowly was safe from all harm. "I am, it's true. My momma and daddy were both Slytherins and I thought…well, I just thought it would be a little better than it is. And I don't care if it makes you hate me because you probably hate me anyway so...so…so nyah!"

"I don't hate you," Mars said with a laugh. "I just don't know you. Besides that, I don't know if you noticed it or not but most people here are idiots. Immature little children who insist on making my job more difficult. The whole house rivalry thing it stupid, you know. Here's what I think: Slytherin is all about having ambition and the motivation to achieve success. You're more of a Slytherin than half the people here, you know why? Because you see what you want, you know what you want, you want to be in Gryffindor and you're going to do whatever it takes to get it, even if it makes some people here mad at you. That, Nott, is what it really means to be a Slytherin. So, even if you're a Gryffindor you'll still be a Slytherin."

Darla stopped and thought about this for a moment. She had never really considered it before. It hadn't even crossed her mind that there had been real meaning to the houses, she had just thought that it was all about family honour or being around people like yourself. She looked up at Mars and blinked. "You really think so?"

"I never think, I always just know," he told her. "Anyway, that's all I really wanted to say to you. If you're ever in any sort of trouble, well, you can always come find me."

Darla smiled and looked down at Prowly. "Thanks, Mars…"

"Don't thank me. I'm just doing what any sane person would do…Darla."

Darla felt much better after her talk with Mars. He was a weird kid, but that didn't make him a fool. He was smart, smarter than most of the people Darla had me in her entire life. Her faith in humanity was beginning to be restored and she felt well enough to return to her dorm room and she even wrote Cassia's essay without complaint.

"I don't know, Darla, some people are just strange like that," James said Monday morning at breakfast. Darla had explained what had happened between her ad Cassia, leaving out her mother and Mars. "I just can't believe you actually did her essay for her. I mean, you should've told she could go and f—"

"James," Lily said, appearing behind him. "I doubt that mum would like to hear you giving _that_ sort of advice." She put her hands on her hips

James looked up and grinned innocently. "I was going to say that she could go and frolic through the flowers, Lils. Merlin, you are quick to assume, aren't you?"

Lily rolled her eyes and looked over to Darla. "Hey, Adam Smith wants to talk to you." There was a small grin on her face when she said it.

"Oh, okay…um, tell him I'll be in the library this afternoon?"

"Alright, but that's a weird place for a date," Lily said before she trotted back over to the Hufflepuff table.

Darla helped herself to coffee, then she realized that James and Freddie were both being oddly quiet. They were never quiet. Regardless of what was happening they always had something to say or a prank to plan. Darla thought that they probably even talked in their sleep. "What," she asked, looking at the two of them.

Freddie was snickering slightly and James just sat there, his mouth slightly agape. "You have a date," he finally said, sounding awestruck.

Shrugging, Darla took a sip of coffee. They were only studying; she didn't see what the big deal was. "I assume 'date' means 'studying' in this scenario, James. Adam helped me a bit with Charms, so I offered to help him with Potions. Honestly, a _date_," she said and rolled her eyes. "Dates are for people who are silly and have time for such foolishness. I'm far too busy with other things to possibly worry myself with something as simple minded as dating." That was an exact repeat of something she had heard her father say when her Uncle tried to set him up with a girl from work.

"That was quite the speech," Freddie said, still giggling. "But it doesn't change the fact that you're in _love_ with Adam Smith!"

Darla looked absolutely scandalized at this. "I am most certainly notin love with Adam Smith!" She didn't even know how someone would come to such a conclusion.

"Let's review the facts," James said. "You guys hung out during class. He helped you with Charms. Then he gave you a flower necklace. Now, he wants to talk to you and you, obviously, want to talk to him. Hmm, I'd say its love alright."

"Its not love," Darla argued, her cheeks turning pink. "First of all I barely even know the guy! Secondly, he's a Hufflepuff, my uncle would kill me if I dated a Hufflepuff! Third, we're just studying!"

"Adam and Darla sitting in a tree," Freddie sang. "C-h-a-r-m-i-n-g. First comes flying, then comes Potions, I saw Darla showing real emotions! That's not it, that's not it. I saw Adam—"

WHAM. Darla threw a scone at Freddie's head, causing him to shut up quickly. "That song is stupid," she declared and crossed her arms.

"Hey, free scone," Freddie said before shoving it into his mouth.

James reached over and put her arms around Darla. "D'aw, look, Freddie, our little Hedge Pixie is growing up!"

Darla managed to wiggle out of James's hold and stood up. "Whatever, I don't even care anymore. I have to get to class." On that note, she turned quickly and hurried out of the Great Hall, feeling perfectly embarrassed. She was most certainly not in love with Adam, and she knew that. It was ridiculous for her to even consider it. She barely even knew him!

"Hoy, Nott!"

Darla groaned loudly and turned around on her heel. She had class to get to and she really didn't feel like being bothered. "What, Scorpius?"

"Shut up," Scorpius said instantly and jogged over closer to her. "I need you to do something for me."

Even though Darla was not even remotely interested in what Scorpius wanted her to do, she still had to at least hear him out. "You need a favour?"

"What part of 'shut up' confuses you?" Scorpius rolled his eyes and reached into his robe pockets. He fished out a small bottle. "I need you to slip this in your friend's drink. Potter or Weasley, I mean." He was grinning ad his eyes were narrowed, whatever this was Darla was certain she wanted no part of it.

She examined the bottle for a moment. Inside was a very thin green liquid. "Yeah, no offence, Scorpius, but I really don't think that this is such a good idea. I mean, I'm sure it's a great plan and all, but I have to wonder if it's not revenge for them flooding your common room."

Again, Scorpius just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, except you kind of have to do it. Remember our conversation the other day?"

Unfortunately, Darla did remember the conversation. She remembered it very clearly. That was why she knew she had to at least take the bottle, though it made her sick even to think about putting it in her friend's drinks. "Yes, Scorpius," she said, defeated.

Scorpius smiled again and ruffled Darla's hair. "See, now, I knew that you would come around." He turned around and started to walk off. "Oh, do it during dinner, I want to be there when it happens."

Darla pocketed the bottle and headed to class. She lid into her chair and opened her book, it wasn't long before Lily joined her. Professor Bane told them to work on a Sleep Draught, something he assured them that they couldn't possibly explode.

"Lily, what would you do it I poisoned your brother," She asked nonchalantly as she chopped her lavender into tiny pieces.

Lily laughed. "I think I would give you a trophy!"

"I'm serious, Lily."

"Me too!"

Darla rolled her eyes. "I didn't even tell you which brother…."

"I don't care which one it is. Look, is this about Adam," Lily asked with a coy little smile. "Because, look, if it is then you can tell me. I promise not to tell my brother or any of my cousins or anyone else."

"It's not about Adam." Darla sighed and threw her lavender bits a little too hard into her cauldron. "It's about something else. If I tell you do you promise not to tell anyone at all?"

Lily's eyes lit up and she lowered her voice dramatically to make sure they weren't overheard. "I'm the best secret keep ever," she promised.

As they worked on their potions Darla explained what had happened between her and Scorpius. Scorpius had only told her not to tell her uncle, Darla figured she could tell Lily. Lily listened quietly, absorbing everything Darla said. They were only interrupted when Nero managed, somehow, to make his potion explode.

"Well, when it comes to James I'm one for fratricide, but, it's really not a good idea to try and pull one over on him," Lily told her as they hurried out of Potions class. "I mean, unless you want to die a horrible death. James loves pranks, just not when they're pulled on him."

"So, what do I do," Darla asked, looking up at Lily.

Lily sighed and tossed back her orange hair. "I don't know, really. You should talk to James about it, though. I know it may sound stupid and ridiculous, but he'd know what to do better than I would." She paused and giggled again. "And he just might beat Malfoy into a pulp for trying to pull on over on him."

"Now, I'd pay to see that."

Darla didn't mention anything to James during lunch, though. She needed some more time to work out exactly what she wanted to say. It had to be phrased just right. So, she figured she would talk to him after Defense Against the Dark Arts, before she went to the library to meet with Adam. Adam. Thinking about her meeting with him also made her feel a bit queasy. She didn't know why, she had bigger problems than Adam. Still, didn't get easier throughout the day. Defense Against the Dark Arts was, as per usual, interesting. Professor Amicussio finished up the lesson on Merpeople and started talking about Changelings.

He went through the basics. "Changelings are not people," he emphasised this point several times. "After Fair Folk kidnap a person and they remake them using something such as sticks or something similar. Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, they'll use another Fair Folk. Now, the Changelings are in place. They're disguised as people, but you'll notice subtle changed in them. Folk don't always pay much attention to the person they're trying to recreate. If a person is paying attention then they'll notice subtle differences in the person. Their eye colour will be different, or they'll have a minor personality change, or they will be taller, small, something just very slightly different." The bell echoed through the halls, cutting Professor Amicussio off. "I want three rolls of parchment on Changelings and identifying them," he called to everyone packing up. "Miss Nott! Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Darla stopped packing her bag and groaned. As though she didn't have enough problems now she had to deal with Professor Amicussio. She closed her book, grabbed her bag, and hurried over to his desk.

"Yes, Professor," she said. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry…"

Professor Amicussio sighed and opened his briefcase. "Well, that's a shame, but let me express how much your busy schedule does not matter to me." He sounded actually angry.

Darla recoiled slightly. "I'm sorry…what did you need to see me about?"

Sighing, Professor Amicussio pulled out two sheets of parchment. He looked up, glaring. "There was a bit of a problem with your homework. Namely, that it was almost identical to Miss Bole's homework. Now, I'm not saying that you copied her homework and I'm not saying that she copied yours." He put the essays back and crossed his arms. "I would just like an answer. Why?"

"I, um, I don't know what you're talking about, Professor," Darla said, lowering her gaze and staring at the floor. "I mean…it's like that saying, 'great minds think alike'." She was a poor liar, she knew it and Professor Amicussio knew it.

"Darla," he said in a warning tone. "Give me an answer or we'll be here all night and you'll never get to what you're dying to get to. Just tell me why you wrote her essay. Oh, don't give me that," he said in response to Darla dumbfounded expression. "I am surprisingly smart. Even if I wasn't, I know what your handwriting looks like."

Well, that was over. Darla should have known that it wouldn't work. After all, anything that was Cassia Bole's idea was bound to be stupid. "I did what you said," she finally said. This, she decided, would be what James would do. "You told me not to hide my intelligence. Cassia was having trouble. It would have been, as you put it, stupid not to use my intelligence." She decided that was actually fairly convincing. Plus, it sounded much better than 'I wanted her to hate me less'.

"That's not what I meant." He groaned and rubbed his temples. "Don't do it again, alright? If you do then I'll have to fail you both, and I don't want to do that, and I'll have to give you detention, and I really don't want to do that." He looked up at her, his gaze softening. "I'm disappointed, Miss Nott."

Darla nodded, feeling lower than low. She had never had anyone tell her that they were disappointed in her before. She hated it. "I won't, I promise."

"I believe you." Professor Amicussio smiled very slightly. "Now, run along, Pet. I'll see you in class on Friday."

"Yeah, see you then." Darla was feeling completely miserable when she left. She was late getting out of class, so she didn't have the time to meet with James. The next chance she would have to talk to him would be dinner, and she would really have to make a choice about what she was going to do before then. By the time Darla got down to the library she was thoroughly annoyed and quite angry. She slammed her books down on the table, causing Adam to jump and look horrible confused.

He cleared his throat and looked up. "Um, hi…did I do something wrong?"

Darla sat down and flipped her book open. "No, you didn't," she assured him, though she didn't sound terribly reassuring. "Trust me, it's not your fault at all!"

Adam slid down in his head a little. His blue eyes were wide and he fiddled with his hands. "Um, so…Potions, right," he asked, hoping to get Darla back on track.

"Sorry, right, Potions." She flipped through until she found the page with the Sleep Draught on it. Potions was really the last thing on Darla's mind, but she tried to focus for Adam's sake. "So, how were you with Sleep Draught?"

Following her lead, Adam opened his book to the right page and scanned over it, reviewing the information in his head. "Not too bad, I guess. I mean, I get that lavender is a sleep agent, but, um…okay, I lied. I really don't get it…."

Darla signed and ran her hand through her hair. This was going to take a long time and quite a long of effort on her part. At least it was something to take her mind off of everything else. She looked down at her book, took a deep breath, and went on a long rambling speech that she hoped Adam was paying attention to. It proved just to be mostly a waste of her breath. When Darla looked up from her book she saw Adam sitting there, looking like a lost and scared puppy. Darla though about telling him that it could be worse, she could have one of her father's Ancient Runes books out and be trying to explain that to him. Of course, she felt a little bad for him, so she just closed her book and managed a smile.

"Alright, you're not absorbing any of this." It seemed pointless to even try, it was obvious that nothing was getting through Adam's mind.

He shook his head and groaned. "Is this going to be on the test?" Adam lowered his head and held onto his hair.

Darla couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy. She was pretty bad at Charms, but it was becoming clear to her that Adam was even worse at Potions. "I'm sure that you'll get it eventually. Do you want me to go over it again?"

"Merlin, no," Adam groaned. "I think if I try to understand it anymore tonight then my brain is sure to explode."

Well, exploding brains was certainly not something Darla wanted, though she did think it would be interesting to see. "Alright, no more studying. We can just talk or something." She smiled a bit and closed her book and pushed it aside.

Adam lifted his head and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I think that I would like that a little better."

Darla wasn't sure why, but she noticed that Adam had a really nice smile. She shook her head. It was ridiculous for her to notice that sort of thing. She wasn't really sure what they were supposed to talk about. Usually, James led the conversations when she was around or Lysander would pipe in with something he found interesting. Darla had no clue what to talk about. "So, what's home like?" That was all she could think of to ask about that wasn't totally boring. She liked hearing about James's home life, it was interesting, she thought, compared to hers.

Adam's eyes lit up and his smile grew wider. "Oh, well, my Dad works with the Daily Prophet. He's, like, an editor and my Mum works in the Regulations or something of magical creatures or something. Mum works a lot, but Dad is usually home, so, yeah. And I have a little brother, Alex. He's pretty alright, for being seven." Adam rambled on for a few more minutes about how his dad taught him and his brother to play Wizard Chess and his mum bought him all the Heidi the Hag books. He paused and looked up. "Sorry, I didn't ask you. What's home like for you?"

"Oh…" Darla had enjoyed hearing about Adam's life, she hadn't even thought about what she was supposed to say. "Well, my Daddy is a researcher and my Uncle is a Healer," she explained.

For a moment, Adam was quiet. He waited for Darla to go on, but she didn't. "Um, okay…so…what does you mum do." He smiled a bit. "I mean, you're really smart and all, I bet your mum is really smart too."

"Um, I really need to go," Darla said quickly. She gathered up her books and stuffed them into her bags. "Sorry, I just realized that I'm running late for this thing I really need to do. But, I'll talk to you later, okay? Maybe we can study again on Friday?" She didn't wait around to hear his answer. Instead, she acted like she really was in a hurry and rushed out of the library. Once she was out and far enough away she stopped and leaned against the wall. It was stupid for her to get upset over something like this, but she couldn't help it. She had told Cassia about her mother out of anger and Scorpius knew about her because he had been there. Still, she didn't need for the entire school to know about it. She stood there, catching her breath. It wasn't like Adam really knew about her mother, it wasn't his fault, Darla just wished she could suppress her emotions better. Her father was good at suppressing his emotions. Why couldn't she just be more like that?

"Boo!"

Darla yelped, jumped, and spun around. "James Sirius Potter! Don't you dare ever do that again!"

James laughed hysterically and took Darla by the arm. "Oh, it's too easy to scare you kid. Now, walk with me, talk with me, we need to work some things about."

For a moment Darla was horribly worried. Had James already found out from someone else what she was supposed to be doing? Would he be angry? If so, how angry was he going to be? "Alright…?" Darla bit her lip and let James lead her through the corridors.

"You seem like you've been a bit…well, testy, lately." He looked over at her and smiled a bit. "I just thought you should know that you really need to calm down. You freak out over every little thing, that's not good for you. It's too much stress, and you're just a first year, there's no reason for you too put that much stress on yourself."

Darla nodded, trying to figure out where James was going with this. It seemed more like he was just rambling than talking to her. He kept talking even after Darla zoned out. She was busy wondering if she had made Adam angry at all, and she was wondering how she could make it up to Professor Amicussio.

"All I mean is that you seem to have a tendency to have these random bouts of anger and you take it out on whoever happens to be closest to do. You get what I'm saying, Hedge Pixie?"

"Oh, yeah," Darla said, though she hadn't been paying much attention to what James was saying. "No stress, no freak outs, no panicking. I gotcha."

James reached down and ruffled Darla's hair. "That's a good little Hedge Pixie." He smiled. "Well, that's all I had to…oh, wait, Darla, one more thing."

Annoyed, Darla looked back up. "What, James?"

With a childish grin, James held up a small bottle filled with a thin green liquid. 'Tell your cousin that he's never going to beat me, no matter how hard he tries. No one can pull one over on me. After all, I am James Potter, King of Pranks." He must have noticed the mixture of confusion and horror on Darla's face because he quickly went on. "We'll keep this between us. You, Lily, and I are the only ones who have to know. Freddie will never know about any of this." He paused for a moment and his smile faded slightly. "On to the more important part of all this, pet. According to what I was told, you really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, still, it's a little troubling that you didn't come to me immediately. It shows a lack of trust on your part."

Darla lowered her head and stared at the floor. This was the second time that day that someone had been disappointed in her. She wasn't sure whose disappointment hurt worse. "I'm sorry, James." No, 'I'm sorry' really didn't sound…right. She remembered being at home and hearing those same words from her father. He would always say 'I'm sorry' when he forgot that Darla needed attention and food. It was a stupid phrase. "No, I take that back. Because saying 'sorry' is just…it's just empty. Sorry is a word that people toss around when they don't have anything better to say. So, no, I'm not sorry. Or, I am but I'm not going to say that. I'm just going to say that next time something happens like this I'll come straight to you." That, she thought, sounded much better than a simple 'I'm sorry'.

For a moment, James just stared at her, looking like he didn't quite know what to say. He brushed back his hair, making it puff up a bit more than usual. "Wow, um, okay…" he finally said and pursed his lips. "I, uh, okay. That certainly was some kind of speech there, pet." He put his hand on her shoulder and continued walking. "Don't worry too much about it, though. I'm just glad you understand."

It felt like a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders. James had found out about Scorpius's plan and he wasn't terribly angry. Darla smiled and walked with him, she felt oddly safe beside him. Darla knew that Scorpius wasn't going to be happy at all about James not getting poisoned, but assumed James had a plan. James always had a plan.

"There you two are," Professor Longbottom said as he rounded the corner. "You would be surprised to know how difficult you are to find."

"No, I really wouldn't," James replied casually. "And, just to clear up the matter, whatever it is you think I did I didn't do it. I've been in the library all afternoon with my little Hedge Pixie. I had absolutely no time what so ever to set off fireworks in the dungeons."

Darla wondered if James ever actually thought abut what he was saying before he said it.

Professor Longbottom stared at James for a moment. He didn't point out that James was obviously guilty. He just shook his head and turned to Darla. "Miss Nott, as your new Head of House I have the pleasure of welcoming you to Gryffindor. I've already talked to your old Head of House, Professor Bane, about it." He didn't look terribly happy about having to talk to Professor Bane about anything, but he managed to force a smile. "Your things have been moved up to your new dormitory and we'll have to talk about the change in your class schedule."

Darla didn't hear whatever he said next. This was, by far, the greatest moment she had had at school thus far. Anything that happened after this was simply fluff to her, just a bit more icing on the cake. "I'm a Gryffindor now," she exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

Before she knew it, James had picked her up and was hugging her so tight that breathing wasn't an option. "About bloody time," he said and threw Darla over his shoulder. "Don't you worry about a thing, Uncle Neville, I'll give her the grand tour and I think it's about high time we had a Gryffindor style party to celebrate!"

Professor Longbottom did not look like he agreed with James's plan in the least. "You know the rules, James. No fires, no loud music, no underage drinking, no fires—"

"You said no fires twice," James pointed out.

"No fires," he repeated sternly. "I know how you are with celebrations, James. I was also in Gryffindor at one point, I know what can happen during parties. No. Fire."

James waved his hand indifferently. "Right, right, whatever, no fires, I hear you loud and clear, _Professor."_ He grinned and put Darla back down. "Alright, Hedge Pixie, it's time for you to see the common room and meet everyone you haven't met." As he walked with her he went over all the different people she was going to have to meet. "Lets see, there's Roxy, she's not only Freddie's sister but she's a Prefect. I know what you're thinking 'oh, so we can get away with more'. Well, kid, the answer is 'yes'. Roxy doesn't really care what we do so long as she doesn't get blamed for it. You already know Lily, I think there's only one other first year girl…I forget who she is. There's Alexander Jordan, he's a bit off his head, but we like him anyway because he's dating Roxy. Louis is my older cousin, he's not too bad. Just be glad the Molly and Lucy graduated." James rattled on, listing names that Darla forgot. Then, he stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, here we are!"

Darla sighed and looked at the painting of a fat lady dressed in pink. "James," she said, groaning. "This isn't going to be like the kitchens, is it? I mean, I'm not going to have to tickle this lady, am I?"

"Well, I should hope not," the lady in the painting cried. "I would hope that you would simply give me the password!"

James couldn't help but smile. He reached down and ruffled Darla's hair. "Sorry, F.L, she's new here. Anyway, Flobberworm!"

When the portrait moved aside, James motioned for Darla to follow him through. As soon as she stepped into the Common Room her eyes lit up. If the Slytherin Common Room had looked like this then she might have wanted to stay. Instead of looking out the windows and seeing lake water, she could see all across the grounds to the Forbidden Forest. The fire in the Slytherin common room had never really warmed up the cold stone room, but this fire seemed to heat the whole room. A tall black girl was lying over the arms of a chair, her dark curls falling to the floor and gleaming in the firelight. A blonde girl was sitting, upside down, on the couch reading a Care of Magical Creatures book. A dark boy and a pale scrawny girl with dark hair and glasses sat on the floor with a star chart out in front of them.

James cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "Everyone, I have an announcement," he called loudly.

Darla expected this to get everyone's attention, to her surprise no one moved at all.

"No one cares, James," the girl in the chair called in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up, Roxy! We got a new girl."

At that, the girl, Roxy, rolled off her chair and stood up. "Oh, right, Professor Longbottom mentioned something about a new girl coming. I'm Roxanne Weasley, but call me Roxanne and I'll hit ya. It's Roxy. I'm a prefect, but, yeah, like that really means anything when you're surrounded by these people." She was talking very fast, if Darla hadn't spent so much time listening to James talk then she might not have been able to keep up. "I'm also Quidditch Captain, which means this year we're going to win!"

That statement earned a cheer from Freddie, who was coming down the stairs from, what Darla assumed was, his dormitory. "Here, here! We've got the worlds best Keeper!"

Roxy bowed slightly. "Only because I've worked at it!"

"We've got the best Seeker ever," James continued.

The blonde girl on the couch nearly dropped her book to fist pump the air. "Hell yeah! Don't forget our Chasers!"

The dark boy on the floor smiled, looking slightly embarrassed and the scrawny boy whistled. "Boot would thank you too if she were here," the scrawny said. "Oh, and don't forget out two amazing Beaters!"

James and Freddie both bowed slightly. "It's the only time we're allowed to hit things with bats," Freddie said.

"Ah, what an introduction for our new pet to see almost the entire Quidditch team," James said. "Allow me to clear up any confusion. Blondie over there, Amelia Fawcett, that's our Seeker. Those two on the floor, the little on there is Patrick Finnegan, and the tall kid is Alexander Jordan, they're our chasers. You see the lovely Miss Roxanne—"

"Potter," Roxy said in a warning tone.

"Right, right, the lovely and scary Miss Roxy, she's our Keeper, Captain, Freddie's sister…need I go on?"

Roxy smiled. "I think this is going to be too much information for the poor girl, James. You don't want her brain to explode. Why don't you let me show her up to the dorm so she can get acquainted with Lily and Maggie?" She suggested.

"Trust me, you can't feed this one too much information," James said happily and put his hand on Darla's shoulder. "She's like a book, I swear. You can ask this kid just about anything and she'll know the answer."

Darla thought that was a great compliment, but she couldn't help but agree with Roxy a little. This wasn't class, she couldn't process the information the same. "I wouldn't mind seeing the dormitory, if you don't mind, James."

"It's all good," James assured her and handed her off to Roxy. "Besides that, we have a party to plan. I'll get the fountain set up."

Roxy rolled her eyes and led Darla up the steps. "Ignore James if you can. It's hard, considering her seems to be everywhere at once. He's a little insane."

"He's my friend," Darla said proudly. It was good to have a friend she could count on, especially James. "He's helped me all year."

"Huh, James has? Our James? James Potter?" Roxy feigned shock. "Our James is actually helping people? Something must have happened to his brain." She stopped in front of a heavy oak door. "Alright, erm, I didn't quite catch your name."

"Darla, Darla Queenie Nott," she said and shook Roxy's hand.

"Darla, 'ight. Well, I'm Roxy, as you know. If you need anything just come to me…unless it involves work, then go to James or Freddie."

Darla nodded and said she would see Roxy later. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her new room. Like her old dormitory, this one was decorated in its house colours. Three four poster beds were set up against the wall, all with crimson red hangings around them. Lily was sitting cross-legged on the bed closest to the door. A tall girl with braided black hair was sitting in front of her. The girl smiled and waved and Lily grinned.

"So, James was telling the truth, you really did change houses," she said, not sounding at all surprised. "Come, sit down, first you meet Maggie and then you tell me all about what happened between you and Adam."

Darla sat down on the edge of the bed. For a moment she considered asking Lily why she had told James about the potion, but she decided against it. Even though Lily had promised not to tell anyone, Darla wasn't angry with her. She probably would have done the same thing if she was in Lily's situation. Although, she figured she would have to ask her about it later.

"Hi," the dark haired girl said with a small wave. "I'm Maggie Lynn." She had a soft squeaky voice and a slight lisp.

For the second time, Darla introduced herself.

"Maggie here is the only muggleborn girl in our year," Lily explained and tossed back her hair. "She was worried until I told her about my Auntie Hermione. She was a muggleborn and she was the top of her class!"

Darla smiled. "Oh," she said, her eyes going wide. "I didn't know we had any mudbloods here. I thought Adam was a mudblood, but his parents are wizards too, so he's not a mudblood."

Lily cleared her throat and looked very embarrassed. "Darla, you can't say that…."

"Can't say what?"

"Mudblood," Lily said, lowering her voice slightly. "You should know that."

Darla thought for a moment. She had heard that word growing up. Her uncle had used it and her aunt had used it, even her great aunt had used it. "…Why? I appear to be able to say it perfectly fine. Is there something wrong with my pronunciation?"

"No, but—"

"My vocal cords seem to be working alright. I don't see anything physically preventing me from saying that word. I mean, I can say it just fine." She paused. Her mind went back to a book she had read once about cursed words and she gasper. "Unless…is there a taboo on it? I read about that once! Is there a taboo on that word now to where if I say it then I'll lose my ability to speak or something along those lines?"

"Well…" Lily paused and sighed. "Yeah…sure…that sounds right."

Maggie looked at Darla for a minute and then looked back to Lily. "I thought it was just very rude and—"

"Shh," Lily hissed and smiled. "So, yeah, you can't use that word anymore or you'll lose your ability to speak."

Darla made a mental note to write to her Uncle Draco about this, she certainly didn't want him to lose his ability to talk and she knew that he used that word all the time. "Alright…so, I say muggleborn, right?"

'Yeah, muggleborn, that word isn't taboo," Lily told her, sounding exhausted. She clapped her hands and grinned again. "Now onto something that's actually important! Adam! Darla, what happened with Adam?"

After enough prodding, Darla told Lily and Maggie about her meeting with Adam, she just happened to leave out the part about her family. Lily seemed to be over thinking the whole situation. According to her, Adam did, in fact, like Darla quite a bit. Darla begged to differ. It seemed that Adam just needed some help with potions.

Nearly an hour later, Roxy poked her head into the dormitory, grinning. "Hey, kiddies, now, you didn't hear it from me, but there's a party going on downstairs…"

Lily slid off the bed and hurried past Roxy, muttering something about how there was probably going to be a fire. Darla and Maggie followed in suit, Roxy seemed to think it was best if she wasn't at the part. When Darla walked into the Common Room she discovered that there was, in fact, a fire. It wasn't an out of control fire, however, it was a perfectly contained blue and purple sphere of fire that, upon closer inspection, was also a fountain. It wasn't until Darla looked very closely at it that she realized it was a Firewhiskey fountain. Darla was actually fairly impressed, it must have taken quite a lot of effort on James's part to get the fountain set up like this. Though, she assumed the only reason he had gone to all the trouble to set it up was because Professor Longbottom had specifically said 'no fires'.

"The fire doesn't burn," he said, sneaking up behind her. Grabbing two glasses, he dipped them into the fountain and handed one to Darla. "It's my own design, figured out how to make this fire during my second year."

Darla stood there admiring the fire for a few minutes. "You're very good at Charms." Casually, she took a drink of the Firewhiskey. It was completely different from Butterbeer. Butterbeer was a bit thick and made her stomach feel warm, the Firewhiskey was thin and made her feel hot. It took her a moment to swallow it. After the first sip, however, the second was easier.

Taking her by the shoulder, James led Darla around to introduce her to people. Most of the people she met had no clue why there was a celebration, all they knew was that there was a giant fountain filled with Firewhiskey. James's younger cousins, Louis and Rose, didn't seem horribly trilled at the idea of a party. After Darla was introduced to them they muttered something about studying and hurried out of the common room. As the night went on, Darla found herself enjoying the firewhiskey more and liking the people she met a lot more. By midnight, Darla found her head on Amelia Fawcett's lap while she listened to Allison Boot ramble on.

"And so I says to my Dad I says, hey, Dad, that's not a book that's a monster," Allison said, twirling one of her waist long brown braids around her finger.

Darla laughed, though she had absolutely no idea what it was she was laughing at. She had actually listened to maybe a quarter of her story, but she somehow found the idea of a monster book hilarious. The fire in the fountain was starting to die out, every few seconds it would shoot out a purple spark of light and fade a little more. For some reason, Darla found this very interesting to watch. Amelia was distracted brushing Darla's hair with her fingers and every few minutes asking her why she didn't let it grow out.

James came sliding down the staircase, holding a bouquet of fireworks in his hand. He landed just as Professor Longbottom walked in.

"Alright, now, I say we end this with a bang," James announced as he walked through the common room. He froze in place and locked eyes with Professor Longbottom and quickly attempted to hide his large array of fireworks behind his back. "Hi, Professor, we were simply…"

Professor Longbottom simply groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "You were simply breaking all the rules I set for you."

"No, there's no loud music," James said instantly.

"Yes, James, but there's a fire," he said, pointing at the Firewhiskey fountain. "I specifically said no fires. And there's underage drinking. Don't even try to deny it, James, I don't see a sober face in this room. Now, let's make this easier and give me the fireworks before you have two weeks of detention instead of just one."

James's face fell. "I have a _week_ of detention?"

Professor Longbottom shrugged. "Alright, fine. Give me the fireworks before you get _three weeks_ of detention instead of two."

At this point, James realized he was in no position to argue. He quietly handed over the fireworks and slumped own on the couch between Amelia and Allison. "You're just a fun hater," he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest.

Walking around the room, Professor Longbottom vanished the Firewhiskey and the fire fountain. "Yes, yes, James, that's exactly what I am. I hate fun and the laughter of children," he said in a perfectly monotone voice. "Bed, all of you, there is school in the morning."


	7. Chapter 7

The next several months seemed to absolutely fly by for Darla. Scorpius had, of course, realized that she hadn't poisoned James, but he didn't have much of a chance to get close to her. In the hallways she was always with Lily and Maggie, and sometimes Adam or the Scamander twins, and during dinner she was with James and Freddie and sometimes Amelia or Allison. After a few weeks, Darla realized that Amelia was the girl that had caught Freddie's attention. Darla and James never once missed an opportunity to tease him about it. Another good thing was that flying class was no longer the bane of her existence. Though she did miss Adam, Darla was happy to discover that she wasn't alone in her fear of flying. As it turned out, several people in Ravenclaw didn't like flying. Lily turned out to be an exceptional flyer, and oddly enough Lysander was fairly good. However, Lorcan and Hugo both refused to even go near a broom.

"Do you know how many children between the ages of ten and seventeen get killed in broom related accidents every year," Lorcan asked her one day. "Three. I don't want to be one of those three."

Though her grade in charms was frankly abysmal and she was failing flying, everything else finally seemed to going as well as it could. For the first time in a long time Darla felt as though she was actually happy. She was enjoying school, she liked listening to Freddie and Amelia argue over Quidditch teams, the highlight of her day was gossiping with Lily and Maggie, and she had even started spending more time with Adam. They had, somehow, gone from being simply study partners to actually being friends. Usually they would hang out together in the library, but that was mainly to escape from everyone else. It was nice to have someone to talk to sometimes, just to talk to about nothing whatsoever. Adam hadn't asked about Darla's family anymore and she hadn't mentioned anything about it. Lily would grin at them whenever she saw them together and James would get oddly angry at both of them. There was a point where he went a whole day without talking to Darla simply because she had eaten lunch at the Hufflepuff table. Darla had found that horribly strange, but she had decided not to question it and James quickly forgot that he was supposed to be angry with her. Though Darla hadn't really spoken to Mars much since she had become a Gryffindor, she had seen him around. He would flash her a small smile when he saw her in the hallways, but aside from that they really didn't have much of a reason to talk. She hadn't forgot what he had said to her 'If you're ever in any sort of trouble, well, you can always come find me.' She had no idea what that meant, but it was nice to know that someone in Slytherin was still on her side.

The Quidditch season had started up, though Darla hadn't had the time to see a single game. It was much easier to hang out with Adam while James was busy hitting bludgers with his bat. Still, she promised him that after the holidays she would come out and watch at least one game, though she honestly couldn't see the appeal of it all. Fall faded into winter and the grounds became crisp and white. The common room was always full and very loud, people were always hanging close to the fire. It was worse on Friday December thirteenth. The next day almost everyone would leave to go home for holiday break and they seemed to be having trouble saying goodbye to one another.

"I just want to get back to my own house with my own library," Darla told Lily as they stretched out in front of the fireplaces.

Lily laughed a bit and looked over to James and Freddie, who were sitting on the couch, loudly arguing about what prank they wanted to pull at the family Christmas party. "Well, rather unfortunately for me I'll be stuck with these two plus Albus, plus Teddy…plus Louis…plus Hugo…plus Roxy…plus—"

"Please don't name all the cousins," Freddie said, managing to break himself away from the argument. "Please, we'll be here until next week if you name then all."

"Wanna bet? I you two galleons that I can name all the cousins in a single breath."

Freddie tapped his chin and considered this for a moment. Then, he dug through his pockets and slapped two galleons down on the table. "You're on, Lily!"

Lily took a very deep breath and closed her eyes. " and Freddie." She grinned and grabbed the coins off the table. "I win, as always. There aren't really all that many cousins, it's not my fault you can't remember them all."

James looked over at Freddie and smirked. "You forgot Jean, you _always_ forget Jean," he noted and snatched the coins out from Lily's hand, handing one off to Freddie and pocketing the other one. "Ergo, you lose."

Lily pouted for a moment, but she quickly got over it. "Jean is only two, he barely counts. Besides, I said Teddy and he's not even technically our cousin!"

"You're lucky," Darla pointed out. "My only cousin is Scorpius."

"That's much easier to say in one breath," Lily pointed out.

None of them went to bed very early that night. They stayed up talking about whatever happened to come to mind. When morning finally did come, they were all quite groggy but still excited about going back home. James, Freddie, Lily, Darla, and Adam managed to squeeze into a compartment together. Darla leaned against Adam's shoulder and propped her legs up on James's lap.

"What do you want fro Christmas, James," she asked as she put a Sugar Quill up to her mouth and nibbled on the tip.

James shrugged. "Anything that's flammable, I like it better when things are flammable."

Well, that certainly narrowed the list down to almost everything. Darla decided that she should probably get him some more fireworks, since Professor Longbottom had confiscated his other ones.

"What about you, Hedge-Pixie, what do you want?"

Darla thought for a moment. She had never actually been asked what she wanted fro Christmas. Every year it was almost the same, Uncle Draco would give her money, Aunt Astoria would get her something shiny that she would wear once then lock away in her jewellery box, and her father would forget then run out to find a new book. "Sugar Quills," she decided and bit the tip of the Sugar Quill she had been chewing on.

"I think you may be addicted to those things," Adam pointed out. "What about me? Don't you want to ask me?"

Grinning, Darla shook her head. "Please, I know what you need." Darla had seen a book over the summer that she recently decided would be perfect for Adam. It was 'A hundred accidental flying accidents'. Considering they met while refusing to fly it seemed like something perfect.

"Onto something that's actually important," Freddie interrupted. "What the hell am I supposed to get for Amelia? I've got no clue!"

They spent the remainder of the trip giving Freddie horrible advice on what to get Amelia. Lily suggested a love potion, Darla said that all girls loved live dragons and that was sure to win her heart, James pointed out that Amelia was on the Quidditch team and he thought that his mother's autobiography was what just she needed, and Adam suggested Sugar Quills.

When the train slowed to a halt at platform 9 ¾ they all hurried out, James kept his hands on Darla's shoulders to keep her from getting stepped on. As soon as they were all safely off he gave her a hug and ruffled her hair.

"Now, don't forget about me while you're reading those silly little books you talk about so often, Hedge-Pixie," he warned her.

Darla grinned and hugged James back, she was starting to get the idea of hugging. "Alright, but you're not allowed to forget me and find a new Hedge-Pixie to carry around!"

James promised he wouldn't and hurried off to find his parents. Lily and Freddie said goodbye before chasing after James, leaving Darla alone with Adam.

It wasn't usually awkward for her to be alone with him, they spent most of their time together alone. For some reason, however, they both stood there staring at their feet and trying to figure out the right words to say. Darla wondered if, as James would put it, a cat had gotten her tongue. She glanced around and saw several cats, but none of them seemed to have human tongues so she figured that wasn't right.

Finally, Adam broke the silence. "So, I'll see you in a few weeks, I guess," he said in his usual quiet and mousy voice.

Darla nodded and managed a smile. "Oh, yes, and when we get back I'm determined to make you understand Potions!"

Adam laughed and bent down to give her a hug. "And you'll understand Charms, I'll make sure of it."

Before Darla could say anything else something happened that she never would have expected. She had read about it happening, but she never thought it would happen to her. Adam, very gently, brushed her hair back and kissed her on the forehead. Unsure how to react to this, Darla just stood there and stared blankly at him. A part of her wanted to ask him what the hell that was about, but she wasn't sure she was supposed to question it. Quickly, she made a mental note to ask James about it later.

"Um, okay," she finally squeaked out. "Well…um, I'll see you after Christmas?"

Blushing, Adam took a step back and cleared his throat. "Um, right, have a good Christmas, Darla."

"Yeah, you too…" She abruptly turned and pushed her way through the crowds, deciding that she could think about what Adam had just done after she had found her father. Walking, a bit dazed, through the crowd Darla watched all the other families being reunited. A strange surge of jealousy shot through her as she watched people hug and start rambling on about what had happened at school. She looked for her father, but she didn't see any sign that he was there. Peering through the crowd she looked for any hint of him, his cane, his ponytail, anything that would prove her was there. Eventually, she determined that there was only one adult in the crowd she knew. Pulling a Sugar Quill from her pocket, she walked across the platform and tugged at her uncle's sleeve until he noticed her.

Draco turned around and, for a moment, simply stared at Darla. Then, he swore under his breath. "I told that man, I reminded him! Merlin! How could he have forgotten?"

Scorpius was snickering, but Darla felt absolutely crushed. Once again her father had forgotten about her. It seemed like it hurt worse than usual. She was thinking about Adam's life. Had his parents met him? What about his little brother? Had Adam's little brother been excited to see him? Darla wiped her eyes and gripped her uncle's robe sleeve.

"Don't worry," Draco said, softening his voice. "I'll take you home. We'll drop Scorp off and then I'll take you to your father, alright."

"No," Scorpius said, scandalized. "I don't want her here! I hate her! Why don't you have Uncle Theodore come here and pick her up? I don't want her to come with us!"

Draco didn't smile, he simply rolled his eyes at his son's childish behaviour. "Well, thankfully it's not your choice, Scorpius. Now, please don't whine about this." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright, let's just go."

"But, father!"

"Scorpius, she's family. If you were abandoned here then I would expect Theodore to do the same thing. Please, stop complaining, some of us have just worked a doubles shift, my head is killing me."

Scorpius crossed his arms and glared at Darla. "Don't think that you're going to get away with this."

Darla had absolutely no idea what her cousin was talking about, but she chose to ignore it. Her cousin did often say stupid things that she didn't really understand and right now she was in no mood to entertain him. All she wanted to do was get home to her father and try to understand why he had forgotten about her.

Theodore didn't bother to glance up from his desk. His head was bent so close to his parchment that his nose nearly touched ink. The quill in his hand moved rapidly and his glasses nearly slid off his face. "Draco, how kind of you to come and disrupt me. At least make yourself useful while you're here and run fetch some coffee from downstairs, would you?"

"I don't believe I've ever been confused for a house elf before," Draco replied coolly. He let go of Darla and moved over to the desk. Picking up a small glass he swirled the contents around before holding it under his nose. "I never figured you for a gin drinker. Actually, I never figured you for a drinker." He sat the glass back down. "I found something that belongs to you."

With his eyes still trained on the parchment Theodore gave a curt nod. "Set it down some place, I'll deal with it when I'm done," he answered shortly.

The vein in Draco's temple was throbbing. Darla might have found this mildly amusing had she not been so upset. She didn't think that people's veins actually throbbed when they were irritated.

"Well, I found it at the train station looking lost and scared," Draco said through his teeth. "So deal with it now." He was obviously having a hard time keeping his composure. His fists were clenching and unclenching, his jaw was rigid, and his eyes were narrowed.

At that, Theodore's head snapped up and he looked past his brother-in-law and stared at Darla as though he had never seen her before. "Huh, I thought you were supposed to be at school, Spite," he said, using his old nickname for the girl.

Any anger that Darla had felt instantly doubled and she felt as though she had just swallowed a bludger. Her arms shook and she could feel tears welling in her eyes, so she blinked several times to keep them from falling. "You forgot," she shrieked and dropped her arms to the side. "You forgot about me."

"I didn't forget about you," Theodore said, unsurprised by Darla's outburst Theodore blinked several time and shook his head. "I must've lost track of the days," he said, finally. "I'm glad you made it home in one piece, Darla. Why don't you go unpack and I'll see if I can't get someone to take you shopping or something tomorrow."

"I don't want to go shopping tomorrow or ever, for that matter! I want you to remember something every once in a while! You left me at the train station like I was an orphan or something! Uncle Draco had to bring me home, do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Oh, of course you don't, because you don't know anything about anything!"

"Darla," Theodore said, still calm. "You need to calm down. Why don't you go calm down a bit and Daddy will come talk to you as soon as he finishes his work."

Draco sighed and put his hand on Darla's shoulder. "C'mon, Darla, lets get you to your room, Theodore is in one of his moods."

That was it. Darla couldn't stand anymore. She didn't want her father to talk to her like she was still a child or to ignore her or to forget about her. She wasn't going to be like her mother, she wasn't going to be forgotten about. She didn't want her uncle to try and make anything better. She wanted to break everything she saw. Tears fell freely down her face, but Darla didn't notice. She slid her arm across the desk quickly, knocking several books to the floor and the glass of gin shattered on the carpet. "I hate you," she screamed again. "You forgot about me and you don't even care."

"Darla, stop trying to destroy my study. Or, stop succeeding in destroying my study."

No one seemed surprised by Darla's temper tantrum. Draco simply groaned and grabbed Darla's arm to keep her from sending anything else to the floor. "Alright, I think that both of you need to calm down right now, you're both acting like children."

She didn't want him to be so calm. If he was calm then he wasn't feeling anything, and if he wasn't feeling anything then he didn't care. Darla was tired of people not caring. She ignored Draco's words and struggled against his grip. "I'll destroy everything in here if it'll make you pay attention! You forgot about me and you don't even care."

Theodore sighed. "Darla, we can talk about this later. Daddy has important work he needs to get done." He looked around at the mess on the floor. "And he has several things that need to be cleaned up now."

"Why the hell is work so important," Darla asked, not really caring about the answer. "You always work! You always work and then forget about me! Is that what you were doing when Momma died? Were you working?"

At that, Theodore stood up. He leaned on his cane and walked towards his daughter. "Darla," he said, anger rising slightly in his voice. "Go calm down."

"Hey," Draco interrupted. He wasn't a very good mediator, he never had been. One side of an argument always seemed right to him, but in this case he thought both people were wrong. Both of them were acting like children, at least one of them had an excuse for that. "Both of you, knock it off!"

His words fell on deaf ears, anything he said was ignored. Darla shook her head and kicked the desk once. "You're going to forget about me."

"How could I forget about you when you're yelling at me?"

Darla had lost part of her anger. She felt like she wanted to either break down sobbing or break the lamp on the desk. In the end, the lamp lost. Darla smacked it to the floor using the arm her uncle wasn't holding and it shattered.

Theodore shook his head. "Darla, go to your room and calm down and please stop breaking my things!"

"I most certainly will not," Darla said, as though Theodore's idea of calming down was absolutely ridiculous. "Not while you're still….not while you…I don't even know what you are! You forgot about me, you always forget about me! You forget when it's meal times, you forget when I'm sick, and you forgot me at the train station. You're trying to forget about me just like you forgot about Momma!"

"Darla, I didn't—"

"Don't say you didn't forget about her! You left her in that room where she lived for years while you…while you worked! Then she stopped living in the room and stopped living entirely and you forgot about her! You wanted to forget about her, didn't you?" The idea came to Darla suddenly. She stopped yelling and stared at the floor, tears spilling over her eyes. "You wanted to forget about Momma, but you couldn't, not while I was here. I'm the last…the last bit of her you have to see, so you try to forget about me too…"

Theodore stared at Darla for a long time. Darla couldn't tell if she had shocked him by being right, or if she had just completely confused him.

"Darla….go to your room."

Darla looked up and furrowed her brow. "No! Not until—"

"You don't get it, you just don't get it," Theodore hissed, real anger in his voice now. His hands shook, Darla was reminded of how Scorpius looked right before he hit her. "Go to your room, now."

For a moment, Darla was silent. She had never heard her father get angry before. Sure, he got agitated at her quite often, but he had never gotten angry. Darla swallowed and took a step back. She was still angry, but she didn't know if she was more afraid than angry.

"Fine." She tried to say the word harshly, but her voice cracked and betrayed her. "Send me to my room, just so long as I'm out of your way, right? That's what you wanted, isn't it? For me to go just like Momma? You're going to die alone and I'm going to laugh when it happens!"

What happened next happened so fast that Darla could barley keep up. She heard a loud smack and instantly doubled over as pain spread through her chest. The smack was followed by a crash and when Darla looked back up her uncle had her father pinned down on the desk. He held Theodore's arm behind his back and kept one on his neck. Theodore's cane had been tossed aside in the commotion. Darla coughed and held her stomach, it took her a moment to really understand what had happened in those few seconds.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing," Draco snapped, putting a little more pressure on Theodore's neck.

Theodore struggled against Draco for a moment, but to no avail. Draco was strategically placed so that Theodore couldn't kick him, hit him, or even bite him, not that the last one was much of a threat. "I'm putting my cane to good use, Draco."

Draco moved slightly to get a better grip on Theodore. "You know, Theodore, this little scene looks fairly familiar to me. The gin, the work, who are you trying to be at this point," he had lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper, as though he thought that Darla couldn't hear him.

"Let me go, Draco," Theodore said in a warning tone, avoiding the question,

After a moment of hesitation, Draco moved his arm off of Theodore's neck and let his arm go. "I swear, you touch that child again and I'll see to it that you never see the light of day again." He looked Theodore over and shrugged. "Though, I don't think you'd know the difference, Benjamin."

Theodore's eyes widened and he gripped the side of his desk hard as he stood back up. "Don't call me that, I'm nothing like that foul excuse for a man," he said in a harsh whisper.

Draco tilted his head to the side and looked Theodore over. "Really? Because I can certainly see the resemblance between you and him. You're both devoted to your work, your parenting skills are…well, they're worse than mine, and as for your wives—"

"Shut up," Theodore said quickly, glancing over to Darla. He looked back and locked eyes with Draco. "There's a child in the room, I really don't think that this is something we should discuss," he sounded almost as though he were begging Draco to stop talking.

A dry laugh escaped from Draco's throat. "Really? Now you think that your daughter is a child? That's new, Theodore. I always assumed you thought of her as a short person who happened to live in your house. Now you actually admit that she's a child?"

Theodore shook his head and lowered his gaze. "Draco, please…"

Draco hesitated for a moment before turning back to Darla. "Darla, dear, why don't you go to your room and unpack a bit, okay?"

Darla was still doubled over holding her stomach. She could feel a welt rising beneath her shirt, but the pain was replaced by the fear that had set in. Not necessarily fear for herself, but fear for both her father and her uncle. She had never seen them actually fight before. Sure, they would yell at each other and occasionally her uncle would throw something, but no one had ever been thrown into a desk before. "I don't see why I should leave," she said, calmly.

"Merlin, just go, alright," Theodore snapped. "I think that there's enough trouble without you adding to it right now!"

She wanted to scream again, but her throat was raw and she was starting to feel sick. There was nothing left for her to break. Feeling a bit defeated she turned away. Nothing she could say was going to make him listen and nothing she could do was going to make him pay attention. She wished that she could go and live a life like Adam's of James's. She wished that she could have a family that was normal and sane.

The slam of her bedroom door echoed through the house. She heard the lock outside slide into place, trapping her inside her room.

"He had no right to get angry at me," she told Prowly as she flopped down on her bed. "He's the one who forgot me! Why is he angry? That doesn't seem fair, does it, Prowl?"

The stuffed owl was very good to talk to, but he didn't give great advice. In fact, he didn't give any advice at all. Darla clutched Prowly close to her chest and choked back tears. It made her head pound not to cry, but she knew that it would be worse if she did give in to her emotions. It was a good thing too that she managed not to cry because the door opened and her father walked in. Instantly, Darla sat up a little straighter.

"Um, hi," he said, awkwardly.

"Hello," she replied, just as awkward.

For a few moments both of them were silent. Theodore couldn't quite think of what to say and Darla had nothing more to say to him.

Finally, Theodore seemed to find his words. "My father never would have stood for you behaviour," he told her.

"Oh, well that's very reassuring," she told him blankly. "If that's all you had to say I will now ask you to kindly leave me alone."

Anger flickered over Theodore's face briefly, but he managed to fight it off. "What I'm trying to say is…I suppose I'm trying to apologize, Spite."

"Well, you're doing a very poor job at it," she replied curtly.

"We both said some pretty horrible things—"

"You hit me."

"And we both were in the wrong—"

"You forgot me."

"And we both—"

"You—"

"Darla," Theodore snapped, scaring Darla enough that she stopped talking. "For the love of…would you stop interrupting me?"

Scowling, Darla clutched Prowly a little tighter and locked eyes with her father. "Yes sir," she said, still managing sarcasm.

Theodore sighed and took off his glasses so he could rub his eyes. "Look, just let me do this speech thing and don't interrupt me or I'll lose my train of thought."

Darla nodded to signal that she understood, though she didn't think a speech from her father would make much of a difference.

"Alright, we both know that I haven't exactly done the best job at this whole 'being a dad' thing. Although, you haven't exactly done the best job at being a good daughter." Theodore paused as though expecting her to object, when Darla remained silent he went on. "But, I am trying and it would be nice if you would try a little too. I just talked to your uncle, as you well know, and we agreed that maybe it would be for the best if we were to…ah, how do I put this? If we were to both try and be civil and get along. I know that my father would react…poorly if I acted they way that you act. So, maybe you should try and I'll keep trying and maybe we can make this work."

Darla thought about this. Was this supposed to be her father's great speech that he expected to fix everything? Was this his solution? If he thought that she wasn't trying then he was being selfish. "Get out of my room," she growled.

"Spite—"

"Don't call me that," she snapped and threw Prowly at him. "Didn't you hear me? I said piss off! Get out! Go!"

"Theodore," Draco said, leaning against the doorway. "And Darla you too, I think you both need to calm down a little bit more. And Theodore, you get your hand down."

Darla hadn't noticed that her father had raised his hand as though to slap her. Theodore must not have realized what he was doing either because he rather shamefully lowered his hand. "I'll be in my study," he said quickly and left, relying heavily on his cane. "If you need me, don't."

The door slammed behind him and Darla was left alone with her uncle. Clutching Prowly close again, Darla took several deep breaths but she couldn't quite keep herself under control. Once again she was crying, and she hated herself for that. Draco sat beside her and, after a moment, he put his hand on her shoulder, unsure how to comfort her.

"Don't touch me," she choked out and drew herself back. The last thing she wanted to do was have someone touch her or even be near her. All she wanted was to be left alone. She was crying and she didn't want anyone, even her uncle, to see her right then. "You should-you just piss off too!"

Draco didn't move, he actually looked like he was quite used to this verbal abuse. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small vial. "Here, drink this, it's a calming draught," he offered, keeping his voice soft and even.

Her hands shaking, Darla uncorked the potion and took a small sip. She knew her uncle wouldn't poison her. Instantly, she felt her mood change a bit and she slid back against the pillows. Her heart stopped pounding, her head wasn't throbbing quite as bad, and her tears stopped. "Powerful brew," she said softly.

"I figured if you're anything like your father then you would need something a bit stronger," he said. Draco managed a small smile and brushed Darla's hair back.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but you're a lot like your father."

"I am not."

"You are. You're both smart, stubborn, and you both love to argue," he noted. "But, you're also a lot like your mother. I know you may not remember that well, but when she got mad at someone she would stay mad for days." Draco laughed slightly. "Once when we were in school one of my friends and I changed her essay on Mandrake roots so that instead it talked about dragons. I honestly thought that she was going to kill us. Your mother could scream so loud. Then, once she was done screaming, she didn't say a word to either of us for two weeks. She could hold a grudge."

Darla thought about this for a moment and then smiled. She couldn't imagine what she would do if someone changed her homework, but she liked to think she would respond the same way as her mother. "You really think I'm like momma," she asked, crawling over the bed and laying her head on her uncle's lap.

Draco brushed back Darla's hair and shrugged. "You're as much like her as you are your father," he answered her, trying to remember as much as he could about Daphne. "Your mother, well, she was never dull. You might even look like her if you grew your hair out."

"If I grow it out then I'll just chew on it," she explained, working hard to keep her eyes open. The potion may have calmed her anxiety, but it also made her very tired. Or, maybe it wasn't the potion at all; maybe she really was just very, very tired. She had, after all, just had a very busy day.

Draco sighed and ran his hand back through Darla's hair, possibly to calm his own anxiety. Ever since her mother had died, Darla had come to think of Draco as a second father. "He didn't mean it," Draco finally said. "To hit you, I mean. I know he didn't."

"Yes he did. You don't hit someone on accident with a cane." Darla shrugged. "It's weird," she told him as she toyed with a loose string at the end of his robes. "Usually he just ignores me and goes on. For a moment…" she wasn't sure if she could express what it was she was feeling. It wasn't a normal feeling at all and she was having an awful time putting it all into words. "It…it almost seemed like he cared." Again she paused and bit her lip. "It was the first time he actually…he actually almost touched me. When he almost slapped me…he almost touched me. He never touches me…is there something wrong with me, Uncle Draco?" Darla could hardly remember what it was like before he mother died. Though it was less than four years ago everything seemed so vague. Her condition had been in her blood and it had taken its sweet time killing her. Darla didn't know what point it was that he father stopped paying attention. But there had been a time that everything had been relatively okay.

"No, dear, there's nothing wrong with you. There's something wrong with him, something horribly, horribly wrong with him, I just don't know what it is yet," Draco told her softly. "Your father is just…he's very strange. He's never quite been right."

"No, he used to be," Darla argued as she yawned. "He used to read me a book, when I was really little. I'm your moon and you're my star. When did it all change?"

Draco shook his head and sighed. "I don't know, I honestly don't know. He's been like this for a while though."

"Is it possible that he'll change?"

For a moment, Draco paused. Then, sadly, he shook his head. "I don't think so."

This was what Darla liked about her uncle. He never acted like she was a child, he never tried to lie and tell her that one day everything would get better. He knew, she didn't know how, but he just knew. Darla closed her eyes, letting exhaustion take her over. "Tell me something else about her, Momma, I mean."

Darla didn't hear whatever Draco said about her mother. Her heavy eyes finally closed and she was asleep before she knew it.


	8. Chapter 8

Darla sat on the steps, bundled up in her coat and James's scarf. Snowflakes fluttered down and stuck to the ground, the snow had already piled up quite a bit. Enough for a snowball fight. She knew that, unlike her friends at school, her father wasn't the type of person to enjoy playing in the snow. Darla wondered if Theodore even knew what a snowball fight was, or if he had ever made a snowman. Somehow, she doubted it. Of course, Darla had more pressing concerns about her father than wondering about his relationship with the snow. Like, who the hell was Benjamin and why wasn't she allowed to know he existed? She had several theories, each one crazier than the last. Maybe her father was in some sort of Mafia or maybe he secretly worked in an underground trading industry. No matter how many theories she came up with, nothing seemed to fit.

A loud popping noise make Darla jumped and nearly caused her to fall off the porch. A rather bewildered looking man appeared a few feet away form her. He was a deep mocha color and his dark hair fell casually over his hazel eyes. A certain aire of confidence surrounded him. He was dressed in a neat pinstriped suit and had a long, black fur coat draped over his thin shoulders. Looking over at Darla he offered her a bright smile which she didn't return.

"You must be Darla," he said brightly as he trudged through the snow.

Darla scooted away and eyed the stranger like a cat might eye a piece of string. "I really hate it when strangers know my name," she answered, wishing dearly that she had her wand.

The stranger mock-gasped and put his hand over his chest as though Darla's words had physically hurt him. "Oh, my dear, I don't believe I'm a stranger!"

"Of course you are. The definition of a stranger is one who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance, someone who is new, or someone who is strange," she explained as calmly as possible. It occurred to her that this stranger could quite possibly be the Benjamin she had heard so little about. "Anyway, I don't know you so you aren't a friend or acquaintance, that makes you new to me…and you seem very strange. Ergo, you're a stranger."

Again, the stranger smiled. It didn't seem to bother him that Darla thought he was strange. "The girl not only looks like her father but she talks like him too!" The stranger sat down beside Darla as though this were perfectly normal. "Now, would a name make me any less of a stranger?"

Darla crossed her arms and stared suspiciously at the newcomer. "It would be a start."

The stranger nodded. "I'm Blaise. I'm not surprised at all that you don't remember me. Last time I saw you, you were…I guess you were almost five."

"I see," Darla muttered, trying very hard to remember anything about the strange man. "I was hoping you were Benjamin, though."

Blaise laughed, his cheerful chortle cut through the tension. He waved his hand as though Darla's hope was something he could brush away. "Now, mon cheri, why would you want for me to be someone terrible? I'm your Godfather, not your—"

"I'm getting very annoyed with people dropping by without giving me ay warning."

Blaise and Darla both turned and looked at the doorway. Theodore stood leaning against the doorframe, looking more than a little annoyed. He tightly gripped his cane in one hand and stared down at Blaise.

"Theodork," Blaise exclaimed. "Dear Merlin! What have you done to your hair! Don't you worry, I'll take care of it."

Theodore put his hand protectively over his ponytail and took a step back. "I haven't done anything to my hair, and I would appreciate it if you didn't do anything to it either."

Blaise smiled and stepped into the house, closely followed by Darla. "We'll see about that, Theodore. Now!" He stripped off his coat and turned to Darla. "Yes, you're about house elf sized, be a dear and hang this up then you should join us in…Theodore, where do you entertain guests at?"

"I don't, usually," Theodore answered, obviously getting more annoyed by the second.

"The sitting room it is!" Blaise more or less threw his coat in Darla's direction. It landed with a loud thud on the floor. "Well now, don't let it sit on the floor, it cost me a fair chunk of change and I would rather not have it ruined."

Darla hurried and picked the coat up off the kitchen floor, she was certain that the damn thing outweighed her by a fair margin. She had plenty of questions for this Blaise guy, if he knew her father then it was possible that he also knew her mother. She hurried down the hallway while her father and Blaise went to the sitting room. It took her a lot of effort to get the coat up to the hook, but she finally managed. She pulled off her coat and scarf and threw them into the floor before she hurried down to the living room.

Blaise was sitting poised in the eggshell armchair, his head propped up on his hand. "Really, Theodore, long hair is only in style if you're a musician or, well, evil," Blaise was explaining. He sounded a bit exasperated. "Now, if you would just let me take a few inches off I'm sure that you would feel so much better."

Theodore groaned and shook his head. He slid a little further down on the couch. "Please don't touch my hair, Blaise."

Blaise laughed and looked over at Darla. "So, this is the little Nottlette, huh? She has grown up quite a bit," he mused, smiling. "She's grown to look just like you. I bet she's a genius too."

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "She's practically failing Charms," he noted, sounding bored.

"I've gotten better…" she said, sliding down in a chair.

"Oh, what good are charms anyway? Daphne was never exactly a Charms expert, as I remember."

Darla brightened a bit and sat up. "You knew my Momma?" She asked, excitedly. Finally, maybe she could get some answers about her mother.

While Darla may have been brightening, Theodore was frowning and glaring at Blaise. "Zabini, shut up, stop talking, don't say her name."

Blaise raised his eyebrow and picked his head up off his hand. "Would you rather we talk about you? Because, really, I talked to Malfoy, and might I add how annoying that was? So, let's talk about you, Theodork."

"No," Theodore answered curtly. "Darla, why don't you tell us how school has been going?"

"You don't care," Darla replied, crossing her arms. "You never care."

"Well now I do."

"Do not."

"Spite!"

"Hmph!" Darla slumped down in her chair and pouted for a minute. She really didn't enjoy bantering with her father. "School is great," she answered quickly, glaring at her father the whole time. "I'm enjoying my classes, I hate flying, and my best friend is named James."

Apparently, Blaise decided that he should intervene before the two started going at each other again. "Oh, really? Well, tell me about your friend. I'm sure that he's great. We probably knew his parents back in school."

"James is great," Darla answered, picking herself up a bit. "James Potter, he's ridiculous, but he's a lot of fun to be around. He's really good at…why are you all staring at me like that?" Darla looked between James and her father, both of them looked quite bewildered.

Blaise cleared his throat and laughed a bit. "Sorry, dear, I must have misunderstood you. You didn't say James Potter, did you?"

Darla raised an eyebrow. There were a lot of things wrong with James, but nothing that these people should know about. "Yeah, James Potter…he's my best friend…" She bit her lip and looked at the two of them. Mostly, she was hoping that they weren't going to know about the pranks that James had pulled.

"I'm sorry," Blaise said and shook his head. "Let me get this straight, your best friend is James Potter?"

"Yes…"

"The son of Harry Potter?"

"Um, I guess so…I mean, Potter isn't a terribly common name, is it?"

At that point, Blaise just started laughing. It wasn't a hysterical laugh, just a very small chuckle. "Oh, well this is something now, isn't it? The person we hated has a son, who happens to be your daughter's best friend. How odd."

Theodore shrugged and glanced up at the clock. "I don't she why it should bother me, Blaise. She can make friends with whomever she wants, I'm not in charge of that. After all, she in a Gryffindor."

Blaise stopped laughing. "She's a huh?"

"A Gryffindor, Blaise," Theodore clarified. "I didn't know that you had a problem with your hearing.

"Daddy thinks that Momma would be disappointed," Darla muttered darkly, remembering the letter her father sent her.

Theodore glanced up and knitted his brows. "What are you talking about, Spite? Your mother would just be happy that you're happy."

Darla rolled her eyes and got up off the couch. "You're being mean about my friend and you're lying about what you said," she put her hands on her hips. "I got your letter, Daddy, don't lie to me."

"My letter…" Theodore sighed and rubbed his temples. "For the love of…did you read half of it then act irrational, as always, and get mad before you realized what I'd actually said?"

"Of course not!" Darla thought back, she might have acted a bit rash.

"Your mother would love you no matter what house you were in," Blaise interjected, not wanting a fight to break out. "Unless it was Hufflepuff. Don't be in Hufflepuff."

Darla crossed her arms. She didn't want to mention that a Hufflepuff had kissed her. No, that was a secret that she wanted to keep all to herself. Besides that, she was certain that no one in this room was going to understand. "I'm going to go lie down," she said. "I assume you came here to talk to my father and not me, right?"

Blaise shrugged. "Well, yes, but I would like to know you a little better." He smiled a bit. "You look like her you know."

"Blaise, don't…" Theodore said, sinking back down into his seat. "There's really no reasoning with this girl, I swear, she's insane."

"Well, frankly I don't care that you think I'm insane, Benjamin." Darla had no clue what that name meant, but she knew it had a strange effect on her father. It had seemed to hurt him when Draco had said id and that was what Darla wanted, to hurt him.

Theodore's head snapped up and he looked at her, his eyes burning. "Don't say that! You have no clue what it means, child!"

"Well, I intend to find out eventually," she yelled back before turning on her heel and storming out of the room and up the steps. She thought it was wrong of her father to keep so many secrets. He kept secrets about her mother, about strange names, she wondered what else he kept a secret. As she walked down the hallway she could hear Blaise and Theodore talking below in hushed voices. She walked to her bedroom door and slammed it but didn't actually go inside. No, if she was going to find out anything now had to be the time. Using everything she had learned form James about sneaking around, she went to her father's bedroom and quietly opened the door. There was only one way to figure out the truth behind all his secrets.

His room was neat and orderly, as always. The only thing that looked even slightly messed up was his bed, he hadn't taken the time to make it up. Darla crept across the room and first went to the dressed. Apparently, he father didn't like cluttering up the room with much. All that she found on the dresser was a small pocket mirror and a pressed flower inside an old potion textbook. The closet proved to be just as disappointing, all she found were rows and rows of neatly pressed robes, coats, and shirts. Getting down on her stomach, Darla slid like a snake across the hardwood floor and pushed herself under the bed. That was where she found the treasure she had been looking for. There was a small locked wooden box. Carefully, Darla grabbed the box, hurried out of the room and locked herself back safely in her own bedroom. She was breathing hard, feeling a rush of adrenaline that always came with sneaking around and not getting caught. She wiped the layer of dust off the old oak box. It wasn't very big, it was about the size of her jewellery box. Even though it was obviously locked, Darla still tried to open it. When nothing happened, she sat the box on her bed, reached into her drawer and pulled out an old letter opener. She slid the letter opener into the keyhole and jiggled it around. Nothing happened. Scowling, Darla picked the box up and looked into the keyhole. It wasn't a very advanced lock, in fact it looked fairly simple. Again, she stuck the letter opener into the keyhole, trying to hit all the tumbles. After about five minutes of jiggling the letter opener, Darla heard a small _click._ To her great surprise, the box opened. She had expected it to be protected by more than just a lock, bit then she suspected that her father never meant for her to find it. Inside, there were several letters and photos. Her hand shaking, Darla pulled out one of the letters and read over it.

_Theodore,_

_ I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I know that that's the very last thing you ever want to hear, considering you're, well, you're you. Regardless of that, I want you to know that I'm here if you need anything at all. We've never been exactly close, I know, but you seem like you've changed a lot. I know that it can be very hard to handle this, but know that you're not alone. You've got me whenever you need me. And don't let your damn pride get the better of you! I'm serious! You know what, Theodore? I'm not even going to ask you, I'm going to tell you, we're going out next weekend. You will pick me up at seven and we'll go get drinks. Is that understood?_

_ Daphne Queenie Greengrass._

_ Postscriptum, I mean it. Don't leave me hanging, Nott!_

Darla smiled to herself as she read over the letter. Was that how her mother and father got together? Had her mother really taken the first step? Folding the old letter back, Darla continued going through the box. She found dozens of pictures of her mother. She saw her mother, though she was much younger, walking through a garden, laughing over a glass of Butterbeer, reading a book and looking very annoyed that someone was taking her picture. Then she came across a photograph of someone she didn't recognize. It was a woman, a very pretty woman at that. She had very long jet black hair that she had braided back and wore a very simple white dress. The woman was grinning at had her arms wrapped around a boy a little younger than Darla. He looked a lot like her. They had the same pointed face, dark hair, and blue eyes. The boy was struggling very hard to keep a serious expression, but Darla could see a smile tugging at his lips. She stared at the picture for a long time, thinking it was very familiar but she couldn't quite place either of the faces. She assumed, however, that the young boy in the photograph was her father. She sat the picture aside and pulled out another letter. This one just had a few words written on it:

_Theodore,_

_We won't get today back. Don't live another day unless you make it count! Promise me that much._

_Daphne G. Nott_

To Darla, these were the most brilliant words she had ever seen written down. They were simple, but it seemed true. She wondered when her mother had written these words. Had she written them when she was dying? It seemed to mean a lot more to Darla to think that these had been her mother's last conscious thoughts. A knock on the door jerked Darla back into reality. Quickly, she stuffed everything back into the box and slid it under her pillow.

"Who is it," she called, breathing fast.

"A stranger," Blaise answered.

Rolling her eyes Darla went over and unlocked the door. "State your business," she said very matter-of-factly.

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Business?"

"Come in," Darla finally said, opening the door enough to allow Blaise passage. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

Sitting on the bed, Blaise flashed Darla a smile. "You just did, but you can ask another if you wish."

Darla crossed her legs and sat down on the floor, looking up at Blaise. "Your last name is Zabini, right?"

"Yes…"

"Are you Mars's dad?"

"First of all, that was two questions. Secondly, yes, I'm proud to say that I am." He leaned forward picking a picture frame up off the desk. "I'm not surprised that you made the connection, though I bet he didn't tell you anything about me, now did he?"

Darla thought back. She hadn't really had much of a chance to talk to Mars, but he really hadn't mentioned much about his father. "He said that you and daddy were friends back in school…but that's about it."

Blaise chuckled slightly but didn't look up. "Well, that is true. I'm surprised he told you that much. I've always assumed Mars was a little, well, a little embarrassed of me to be quite honest."

That didn't quite make sense. In the few minutes Darla had known Blaise he had seemed very friendly and, well, fabulous was the only word she could think of to sum it up. "I don't see why he would be. You're way better than my dad…" Darla paused for a moment. "Where's your wife."

"Don't have one," Blaise answered a little too quickly. "I mean, I had one but we, well, it didn't work out between us exactly."

"Why not?"

"Well, Nottlette, it's a bit…." Blaise sat down the picture and looked up, forcing a smile. "Why would you want to know about such things anyway? It's not really…well, it's kind of difficult to understand."

Darla blinked and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm very smart for my age. So, try me. I'm sure that I'll understand."

Getting up off the bed, Blaise crossed over to sit down in front of Darla on the floor. This was mainly strange because Darla had never seen a grown up sit on the floor. "Nottlette, you have to understand that the reason my wife and I aren't together anymore is the same reason that Mars is a bit embarrassed by me and why a lot of people tend to dislike me quite a lot. Most of the people that don't hate me don't know, it's kind of a secret…"

Darla nodded and put a finger to her lips. "I won't tell anyone," she said with a sly smile. Secrets were always the best. "Besides that, I promise I won't judge you."

Blaise looked a bit uncomfortable and Darla was certain that this was not what he had expected to be doing up here. "Well," he started as he fiddling with his hands. "You see, I don't exactly like…um, I don't really like girls. See, I like…I like other men…"

Darla paused, waiting for the whole secret to come out. After a moment of silence it occurred to her that Blaise liking boys was the whole secret! It seemed like a waste of a secret to her. "And _that's_ why they hate you? Merlin, people are so ridiculous sometimes! They hate you because you like men?" She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. It just didn't make any sense, logically, for someone to hate someone just because they liked something that some people didn't like. "I bet they're just jealous, you know, especially the girls. Because they know that you're never going to fall in love with them. Stupid people and their stupid jealousy."

Without warning, Blaise leaned forward and wrapped Darla up in his arms. "Oh, the things children say," he said loudly as he pulled her into a hug. "Nottlette, you're just so damn adorable. You might not understand people, but damn it, I just want to put you in a little glass box!"

"I don't want to be in a box…"

"Well, I'm not actually putting you in anything, but still. You're absolutely, well, fabulous right now." He let her go and smiled. "It's so weird to believe you're Theo's daughter. You're much more…what's the word?"

"Fabulous?"

"Yes, fabulous."

It seemed to Darla that she and Blaise were friends now. Well, she assumed so, sometimes it was hard to tell when you were friends with someone. "So, Blaise," she said as they went over to the bed for a more comfortable seat.

"Oh, please, Uncle Blaise," he told her.

"You're not my uncle…"

"No, but I am your God-father and saying 'God-father Blaise' is too long, 'Blaise' is too informal and 'Mister Zabini' has been way overused. So, Uncle Blaise is the only logical choice here."

Darla blinked and realized that arguing with Blaise would just lead to her being even more confused than she was. "Right…Uncle Blaise…so, you knew my momma, right?"

"Oh yes, that I did. She was actually one of my best friends back in school. Unlike your father I was able to having more than one friend at a time. She was, well, she was interesting, that's for sure. Never a dull moment with her." He sighed and brushed back his thin hair. "She was Mars's Godmother. She loved that boy like you wouldn't believe. She wanted one of her own. That's where you came in. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when she held you." Grinning, Blaise turned around and grabbed the picture frame off the bedside table. "Actually, it looked a lot like this."

The picture was one of the only photographs Darla had of her mother, aside form the ones in the box. It was her and her mother when she was about three. She was laying in her mother's bed, trying to stay awake. Her mother was grinning at the camera and then looked back down at Darla to kiss her forehead. Darla smiled and took the picture in her hands. She didn't remember the day, but it was nice to see her mother, even if it was only in the photograph.

"Alright, my turn for a question," Blaise said, bringing Darla back to the present. "You and your father…what's going on with that? I mean, he mentioned something to me about you destroying his entire study and yelling at him?"

"I didn't destroy the entire study," Darla argued. "And you must have only heard half the story because that's hardly what happened. He was being a Dark Wizard," she explained, using James's insult.

Blaise's eyes got wide for a moment and he cleared his throat. "Don't, um, don't call your father a Dark Wizard, dear. It's not…it's not exactly, um…try a different insult."

People kept telling her that she couldn't say certain words and Darla thought it was ridiculous! What was so bad about saying things? Albus had gotten angry when she called him a bastard, Lily had gotten mad at her for saying 'Mudblood' (even though the word was tabooed), and now Blaise was getting mad at her for calling her father a Dark Wizard. People, Darla decided, were very weird indeed. "I'll call him whatever I want, he's my father and I'll call him a Dark Wizard or a bastard or whatever I want because I can! People need to stop trying to tell me what I can say and what I can't! I'm not a little kid!"

"Alright," Blaise said very calmly. "You don't want to talk about your dad, I get it…but I would like to know the whole story. I'll tell you a hilarious story about a time your uncle got hit by a girl if you tell me what happened."

Darla really didn't want to talk about her father at all, but she would like to hear the story about her uncle. So, annoyed, she explained that Theodore had forgotten about her and Christmas and all he really wanted to do was forget that she existed. When she told the story, Darla realized that her father was perfectly horrible. She hadn't really thought about it, but all they ever did was fight! Even when she was at home all the time they rarely ever had a kind word to say to each other. It was a horrible life to try to live.

"And then he tried to talk to me, but all he wanted me to do was try even though I'm trying my hardest to be…to be…I don't even know!" Darla shook her head and sighed. She had been trying to be like him when she first started going to school, but she was straying away form that quite a bit. She was becoming someone that she barely recognized and she wasn't sure that she liked it very much. "I wish my Momma were here," she muttered miserably. She had this wild fancy that if her mother were there then everything would be perfectly okay and nothing would ever go wrong. It was like her mother was some mythical force that solved all problems.

"Oh, darling, I know," Blaise said and his sympathy wasn't faked in the slightest. He looked like he sincerely understood just how much she missed her mother. "But, you've got to remember something. You don't have your mother, and it was a terrible loss to the world when she left us, but you still have your father. I don't think that your mother would be too happy with either of you right now. There's little you could ever do that would disappoint her, but I think that she would be horribly upset if she saw what your relationship was like with your father, don't you think?"

Darla clutched her knees to her chest and put her sleeve in her mouth. An hour ago this man had been to total stranger and she hadn't trusted him in the least. Now he was her Uncle Blaise and he was putting her worst fears into words. She wanted to hate him for what he had said, she wanted to be angry with him and tell him that he was wrong and that her mother would understand. But she knew that he was probably spot on. She didn't remember much about her mother, but she knew that she always hated it when her father got into one of his moods. Darla sighed and nodded. "I should probably try and fix things, that's what Momma would do, isn't it?"

Blaise nodded. "I think that she would like it very much if the two of you could get along. You just need to tell him what you're feeling right now, I'm sure he'll understand."

"Are you going to be there?" She thought that it might be easier to talk to her father if they were to have a mediator and, no offence to her Uncle Draco, but she thought that Blaise was perfect for that job. He seemed much calmer than Draco.

"I need to get home. I left Mars alone and I'd like to spend some time with him before he goes back to school. Besides that, I'm worried that he'll burn my house down while I'm away."

"Mars wouldn't do that! He's nice!"

Blaise smiled proudly. "Well, I'm glad you're able to think so. Was he nice to you while you were at school?"

Darla smiled back at him and nodded. "Oh, he was very nice to me! He said that the most Slytherin thing that I could do was be a Gryffindor. He told me it showed true ambition!"

"Oh, that's Mars for you. I'm glad, I told him that you were Daphne's daughter when I saw you and Theodore at the station, that jogged so memories for him." Blaise stood up with Darla following in suit. "Don't worry, now, I'll see you shortly. You'll be attending Draco's Christmas party, yes?"

"Oh, yes, I go every year…though I never seen you or Mars there."

"Well, we're going this year. Usually we just ignore the invitation but…we'll be there." He leaned forward and kissed Darla on the forehead then, with a small pop, he was gone.

For a while, Darla just sat alone in her room wondering what to do. She knew that she couldn't stay in there forever, even if she wanted to. Groaning, Darla knew that the best thing for her to do was to try and pull herself together and talk to her father. It wasn't like there were many other options. After all, they still had to live together regardless and living with people was much easier when you liked the people you lived with. Taking a deep breath, Darla forced herself to walk back downstairs. Her father hadn't moved and for a moment she thought that this was very curious. Then she noticed that his cane and wand had been placed on the mantle where he couldn't get to it. It took all her effort not to start laughing.

"Hi, daddy," she said in a small voice and slid back down into the chair. "Are you trapped on the couch?"

Theodore stopped glaring at his cane and turned his attention to his daughter. "Oh, hello, Spite. Um, yes, actually, I am a bit. Blaise thought it would be the height of hilarity to put my cane where I couldn't get to it. Would you do me a favour and get it for me?"

For a moment, Darla considered getting up and getting her father his cane. Then she remembered that if she did that then he would just limp away and she would have no chance to talk to him. If her mother wanted them to work things out then that was exactly what she was planning on doing! She had him cornered now and there was no chance for him to escape. This was too perfect an opportunity to pass up. "I think we should talk, daddy, it's that mature thing to do."

Theodore looked up and raised an eyebrow. There weren't many eleven year olds that talked about what the mature thing to do would be and it caught him a bit off guard. "Well, I really don't have time to humour you right now, Spite. See, daddy is working on something very big right now." He paused for a moment. "I could show you if you'd like."

It wasn't exactly talking, but they were, at least, spending some time together. Besides that, Darla liked reading over her father's research. It made her feel brilliant when she understood what he was talking about. "Oh, goody, can I help," she asked brightly.

Theodore chuckled a bit. "If you have any input then I suppose I have time to hear it, Spite."

Clapping her hands, Darla jumped up and grabbed the cane and wand off the mantle. "Did Uncle Blaise talk to you too?"

Theodore took the cane and managed to get to his feet. "Oh, he more talked at me. And don't call him 'Uncle Blaise', dear, he's not your uncle."

"I know, but God-Father Blaise is to long!"

"He's not your God-Father either," Theodore told her, raising an eyebrow.

Darla shrugged and poked her father in the back. "I don't care, I want to see your insane theories!"

"Insane theories? They're far form that," Theodore said, working very hard not to get frustrated with his daughter. "Now, patience is a virtue, dear."

"Not one that I possess. Wouldn't it be much simpler just to have Uncle Draco fix your leg or do you really like your cane that much?"

Theodore sighed and opened the door to his study. "Please refrain form asking me stupid questions, Spite."

Darla's face fell a bit and she half wished that she had just left his cane on the mantle. "Right," she said under her breath. She never quite knew what she could say to her father, some things offended him and some things didn't. It was very confusing to her.

Theodore took his usual seat behind his desk and Darla noticed that the study had been put back together. All the evidence of her tantrum had vanished and Darla felt an odd pang of disappointment.

"Now, what I'm about to show you is highly confidential," Theodore told her in a very serious manner. "In the wrong hands it could be extremely dangerous. Do you understand that? You're not to tell anyone anything that you see, alright?"

Darla nodded and bit her lip in anticipation.

Theodore took a deep breath and flipped over the parchment he had been scribbling on before. Darla looked down and raised her brow. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Just like Blaise's big secret, this one was very anticlimactic. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, it was just that Darla didn't understand any of it. The top of the parchment said 'The Reversal Effect Theory' and the rest of the parchment was covered in strange symbols and words that she had never come across. The fact that she didn't understand the words perturbed her quite a bit. Form reading so many of her father's books and essays Darla understood Latin, Russian, German, and even knew a bit of Chinese. These words, however, were quite foreign.

"Um, that's great and all, Daddy…but what is it?"

Theodore managed a small smile and looked back at his work. "It's a type of magic, Spite, not like anything you'd ever learn in school, though. It's considered to be highly dangerous if used incorrectly and it's fairly difficult to understand. It's called Alchemy."

That much Darla understood. She remembered her uncle mentioning something in his letter about her father studying Alchemy, but she hadn't exactly known what it was. Now that she saw it she was even more confused than she had been before. "And what does it do?"

"That's where it gets complicated. See, the whole point of it is to attempt to quite literally reverse the effects of death or breathe life back into someone who has passed away."

It felt like an alarm was going off inside Darla's brain. She had read in the letter that her father was trying to bring people back to life, but she hadn't really thought about what that meant. In fact, she had been so happy to have a letter that she hadn't even thought about what they were saying in the letter. "Isn't that, um, illegal?"

Theodore shrugged his shoulders. "That's exactly why you can't tell anyone about it. If it works then it works and it'll be called a work of genius. However, if it doesn't work then people will wonder about the legality of it all."

Darla was certain that her Uncle Draco had been right, her father had lost him mind completely. "Is it dangerous?"

"Highly," he answered curtly.

"Then you shouldn't do it! It's not only illegal but it's dangerous! This-this alchemy thing it…could it kill you?"

Theodore sighed and pushed his glasses up. "Only if it doesn't work."

"Then you can't do it!" How could he be so stupid? Darla couldn't cope with this! She just couldn't! There was no way that she was going to let her father do something so dangerous! "So-so-so stop it!"

If Theodore hadn't been so used to hearing his daughter talk like this then he might have lost his temper again. "Alright, Spite, I see you're really not up to talking about my new project right now. Why don't you go to your room and read a book or something?"

Once again, Darla felt rejected by her own father. There was nothing she could do or say that would stop him, so for once she decided to put her selfishness aside and let him win this argument. "Can I read in here? I'll be really, really, really quiet and I won't bother you at all, I promise," she said quickly before he could offer up a protest.

Theodore sighed and gave in. "Alright, but please do be quiet. I'm going to be working, so be good, alright?"

Darla grinned. "I will be," she promised and skipped over to one of the bookshelves. There were plenty of books in the study that she hadn't read yet and she eventually settled on one that seemed to have something to do with accidents in transfiguration. Mostly she just flipped through the book, looking at the pictures. Then she came across something she found particularly interesting about a man who had become half a table.

At some point she must have fallen asleep. Her father was gently shaking her and the lights in the study had gone dim. Darla groaned tried to turn away form him as though that would stop him form trying to wake her up. "Go 'way," she muttered and put her arm over her eyes.

"C'mon, Spite, you've gotta get in your own bed," Theodore told her. "Just, c'mon, c'mon, Spite."

Half asleep, Darla was only vaguely aware that she was being pulled to her feet. "You're so mean," she told him.

"Yes, I'm horrible," Theodore said in a monotone voice. "Now, come on, just…just walk with me."

It was an awkward way to walk. Darla was leaning against Theodore because she was so tired she could barely hold herself up and Theodore was relying heavily on his cane. It reminded Darla of the time she had gotten drunk with James for the first time and had collapsed on the common room floor. But it was still nice, for the first time she could remember her father was acting like a father. Maybe having Blaise over was a good thing.

Theodore helped her into bed, picked Prowly up off the floor, and pulled the blanket over her. "There you go, sleeping in a bed makes you almost normal."

"You're the weird one," Darla told him and tried to get comfortable. It was difficult, though, her pillow was just all wrong. Being half asleep, Darla didn't even think about the box behind her head and just threw it to the floor without a care.

The box landed on the floor with a thud loud enough to bring Darla to her senses. She sat up, blinking and trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. It would have been better if she had just stayed asleep. Theodore was staring down at the box, his emotions so well masked that Darla couldn't tell if he was angry or not. Very slowly, he reached down and picked the box off the floor; that was when she noticed his hands were shaking.

"You've been snooping," he said in a scary calm voice. "It's considered rude to go through people's personal things, Darla."

Darla bit her lip and looked down at her hands. She should have put the box back when she had the chance. "I-I was just curious," she told him

"Curiosity killed the cat," he told her as he stood up and tucked the box under his arm. "Good night," he said curtly and turned to leave.

Darla threw the blanket off her and jumped up, clutching Prowly to her chest. "And your curiosity wants to bring it back," she said quickly and followed him.

"I see," he said more to himself than to Darla. "I'll remember not to show you my work again if this is how you're planning on reacting."

"Who's the woman?" Since she was already caught she thought she might as well at least try and get some answers.

"She's no one, Darla, now go to bed."

Darla had no intentions of going to bed, however. It was easy to keep up with her father, since he was holding his can and trying to carry the box. "She must be someone; if she weren't then you wouldn't have her in the box with Momma!"

Theodore didn't turn back; he barely even acknowledged the fact that he was being followed. "Don't yell, Darla."

"Talk to me, Daddy!"

"It's late."

"Please, just talk to me."

Theodore shook his head and limped down the stairs. "Go to bed."

"Just tell me."

"There are things in life that you don't want to know about, Spite,"

"Daddy, I can handle it!"

"Spite! Stop it!"

Even though Theodore was very good at keeping everything he felt hidden, Darla hadn't inherited that ability. She reached out and grabbed his sleeve, tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "Please, please, talk to me. You never talk to me about anything that isn't work. Please, Daddy, please!"

Finally, Theodore stopped. He sighed and toyed with the box for a moment. "Sit on the couch, Darla, I'll make some tea real quick."

Darla blinked, surprised that her father was actually willing to talk to her about anything. Wiping her eyes, Darla went over and curled up on the couch. She held her knees to her chest and waited as patiently as she possibly could while her father was in the kitchen. She had a sort of nervous excitement. Finally she was going to be getting some answers.

After what felt like forever, Theodore returned trying to juggle a cup of tea on top of the box. He sat down at the far end of the couch and passed Darla her tea. It was bitter, but she really didn't mind, her father had never been the best cook in the world. Theodore sat the box down on the coffee table and looked over at Darla.

"Well," she asked between drinks.

Theodore shrugged. "Give me a minute," he said.

Darla drank her tea to give him a minute, but he wasn't saying anything. He was just sitting there and he was smirking. He never smirked like that. For a moment, Darla just stared at him. Then she started to realize something. He wasn't going to tell her anything, he was just waiting for something to happen. But what? What was going to happen occurred to Darla a few seconds later. Her entire body started to feel heavy and she could hardly keep her eyelids open.

"Oh…you bastard," she said in a slurred voice.

Theodore shrugged and grabbed the mug just before it slipped out of Darla's hand. "I told you it was time for bed."

Darla wanted to say something insulting, but she didn't really have the chance. Before she could say or do anything she was fast asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

When the sunlight hit her eyes Darla had a lot of questions. The first question she had was where was she? That question was answered as soon as she opened her eyes and looked around. She was home, and at first that seemed like a dream come true. Then she remembered what had happened since she had been home. Then everything seemed to come back and hit her at once. Her father had tricked her! He had tricked her into drinking a sleeping potion! That was simply the worst thing she had ever heard of another human being doing! It was unacceptable and she planned to talk at him until he understood just how horrible it was.

Grabbing Prowly up, Darla stormed down the hall. Oh, she was going to tell him exactly what she felt and he was going to listen whether he liked it or not! You didn't just trick a little girl into thinking that you were going to tell her something and then not! Darla opened the door to her father's study and was unsurprised to see him sitting in his chair, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice her coming in.

Darla was prepared to go and give him a piece of her mind, but she stopped. He was talking, but there was no one else in the room. Was he talking to himself? Had he really gone that insane? Darla half hid herself behind the door and listened.

"It just won't work," he was saying. Theodore had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his eyes. "I shouldn't have let you go so easily. If I had just made you hold on a little bit longer we might have…." He sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. The symbols, the calculations, they just don't add up. Merlin, Daphne, is there anything I can do to make this right?"

All her anger was forgotten in that moment. She had never seen her father express his feelings quite like this. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch him and Darla didn't quite know what she was supposed to do. "Daddy? Are you sad right now?"

Theodore literally jumped and nearly knocked his chair over. "Merlin, Spite, don't sneak up on people like that," he snapped and pulled his glasses back on. Taking a deep breath, Theodore seemed to recover from his shock. "I'm glad to see you're awake now."

Feeling braver, Darla moved closer and sat down in the seat opposite to her father's desk. "That was a nasty trick," he said but without any of the anger she had before.

"Well, you can understand why I did what I did," he said and quickly buried himself in his work.

Actually, Darla couldn't see any justifiable reason for what he did. Even so, she knew it was best not to argue about it. Darla sighed and looked back over to her father. Of course it was easier for him to busy himself with his work than admit that anything was wrong. "Who were you talking to," she asked bluntly.

Theodore didn't even look up nor did he seem to notice that his glasses were sliding down his nose. "Oh, no one, Spite, I was just thinking out loud, it helps me work."

Darla wasn't buying this excuse in the least. She may not understand everything, but she had definitely heard him clearly and he hadn't been talking about work exactly. "You said Momma's name, were you talking to her?" Darla paused and considered this for a moment. "I mean, I guess it's normal if you were, it's just that it's not like she can hear you at all. Some people like to talk to people who are gone, though, I guess it makes them feel better. Does it make you feel better to talk to her, Daddy?"

At that, Theodore did look up from his work. He pushed up his glasses and gave Darla the exact same look Albus had given her when she had called him a bastard. "Darla, do you actually think about what you're saying or do you just say whatever happens to pop into your little head?"

"Well, were you," Darla asked, not really understanding what he meant. It had been a very simple question but he didn't seem to keen on answering.

Theodore sighed and shook his head. "Just…just go to your room and play with your toys or read your books or something, Darla."

"Can't I read in here?"

"No. Now, please, just go."

Darla hated it when Theodore used his stern voice. Again, he just wanted her to go away. She had to remind him that she was here, she couldn't let him forget about her, she just couldn't! "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

"That's not going away," Theodore muttered and rubbed his temples. It was obvious that he was trying very hard to finish whatever he was working on, but again Darla really didn't care about that.

"Well, did you?"

Theodore still didn't look up. His quill continued to move quickly over the parchment and he continued to rub his temples. "I love you when you're here, and I'm alone when you're far, because I'm your moon and you will always be my star," he said sounding distracted.

Darla grinned and blinked. A part of her couldn't believe that he actually remembered that book! It had been so long since she had heard him say anything about it and she had almost forgotten! Still, as soon as he said that one phrase the whole book came back to her memory, "The planets in their lines, around they go, but lovely as they are you're the only one I want to know. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star," she said reciting the next line of the book.

Though he was trying to hide it, a smile was starting to play on Theodore's lips. "The sun burns in a ball of flame, but don't let it's fury melt you away. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star."

"No matter what it is we'll see it through, because whatever it is it's something we can do. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star."

Then, something happened that Darla hadn't been foolish enough to hope for. Theodore rolled his eyes and looked up. "You're just adamant about keeping me from my work, aren't you, Spite?" He was trying to sound annoyed, but the memory of the book seemed to have caused him to actually smile just slightly.

Darla grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm spiteful like that," she guessed.

"Alright, I give up," he said, shaking his head. "You win, you win. I'll take a half hour break, just half an hour and-! Oh, dear, don't do that!"

Darla had taken 'I'll take a half hour break' to mean 'please climb into my lap and start drinking my coffee'. She sat in Theodore's lap and started shuffling his papers around. "Shh, I'm hiding your work," she told him and quickly stuffed his papers into the desk drawer. "There, now there's no temptation to go back to it!"

Theodore sighed and just shook his head. There was really no good response to that. "I knew there was a reason I called you Spite," he finally said. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk about so badly?"

"I don't know," Darla told him as she finished off his coffee. "We could go downstairs and try to make some breakfast. Oh, but neither of us really knows how to cook, I see that plan ending in total disaster! Hmm… Daddy, I'm hungry."

"I suppose we could go out for something to eat," he suggested, "considering I really don't want my kitchen to explode right now. How about it, Spite? You want to go change clothes and go see what Diagon Alley has in the way of food?"

That was the best idea Darla thought her father ever had. Now, if only he could use ideas like that in his theories! She slid down off his hap and grinned. "Brilliant," she practically sang before dashing out and heading to her room to get dressed properly. She forgot about being put to sleep, she forgot about the box, in that moment she forgot any reason she had to be angry with Theodore. All she knew in that moment was that they were actually leaving the house and going somewhere! That was enough to cause her to be happy enough with him.

While breakfast was a very important they ended up not having that at all. Instead, they sat inside Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour. Darla had decided that a Sunday was the perfect meal and Theodore had settled on yet another cup of coffee. His break was definitely taking more than half an hour and he kept glancing at his watch as though that would make Darla hurry up. Of course, Darla was enjoying herself far too much to be in any sort of hurry. In fact, she wished that she could just stop time. She knew in the back of her mind that this happiness, like all happiness, would only be short lived, but she wanted to enjoy it while she had it.

She glanced out the window at all the people finishing up their holiday shopping. At some point she knew that she would have to go out and get everything presents, but that could wait until much later. She decided that she would also get something for Mars, she felt like he deserved a present. "Daddy," she said and broke the silence. "Can I have a kitty?"

"Hmm? What would you want a cat for, Darla," he asked over his cup of coffee.

"Lots of kids at school have cats, can I have one?"

Theodore considered this for a moment. Cats meant fur and fur meant that it was going to be sticking to everything in the house. Still, a cat would distract her from bothering him. "If I say yes that do you promise to be good?"

Darla practically squealed with joy. "I promise!" Quickly, she finished off her ice cream and grabbed her coat. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Actually, Spite, you run along ahead, I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few galleons. "Don't wander off, alright? Get your pet and meet me back here, alright?"

Even though she would have greatly preferred to have her father come along with her, Darla took his money and skipped away happily across the street to Magical Menagerie. The shop wasn't very crowded, but there wasn't much room for her to move around freely, even though she was quite small. Every wall was covered in cages and ever cage contained something she found fascinating. Their were rats skipping over their tails, owls twisting their heads around, and she even saw one obnoxiously bright coloured cat that had a forked tongue. All she wanted was a perfectly normal cat, but while there were plenty of those that wasn't what caught her eye. There was what seemed to be a cat sitting in one of the cages. Well, the only thing that separated it from other cats was that most cats had fur and had two eyes. This cat was far from being a cute and fluffy kitty. It was totally hairless and one of its eyes had been lost in a fight of some kind. The cat had on large ear that stuck straight up and the other ear was about half as large because something had taken a bite out of it. The cat was perfect.

"Can I have this one," Darla politely asked the woman behind the counter.

The woman stared at the cat and grimaced slightly. "Wouldn't you prefer—"

"No, I want this one," she said before the woman could suggest anything else. "He's perfect! And look at him, he's just the most adorable cat I've ever seen! I bet no one else will have a cat like this!"

The woman looked like she disagreed, but she didn't argue. Instead, she took the cat out of the cage. He let out something that might have been a meow but sounded more like 'narrr'. As it turned out, he cost half of what Darla would have paid for him and she just pocketed the change. She politely refused the woman's offer for a cat carrier and held the animal close to her chest as she headed back outside into the cold.

"I'll call you Buttons," she told the cat cheerfully.

Buttons didn't protest, which Darla quite liked. She hated a cat that protested too much.

She and Buttons were about to cross back over to Florean's, but a voice caused her to stop.

"Is that seriously supposed to be a cat or did you just buy a really big rat?"

Darla nearly exploded with joy. If she hadn't been holding onto Buttons then she probably would have turned and thrown herself at the boy. "James," she exclaimed and whirled around quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Al wanted a book," James said and put his arm around Darla's shoulders. "More importantly, what's a little Hedge-Pixie like you doing alone in the cold? I thought that Hedge-Pixie's didn't like the cold. Where're your parents at?"

"Oh, they don't, Hedge-Pixies hate the cold!" There was no way that this day could get any better even if it tried. Everything was just perfect! "My daddy is finishing his coffee, and I decided to buy a cat." She held out Buttons so that James could get a better look at him. "Isn't he just adorable? His name is Buttons?"

James took a minute and looked the cat over. "He only has one eye…"

"It's a quirk!"

"It sure is something…."

Darla didn't care if James quite understood or not. After all, James did a lot of things that Darla didn't quite understand. She loved Buttons despite the fact that he only had one eye, that was just something that made him special.

"There you are!"

James and Darla both looked up. A man had just come trotting down the street, nearly out of breath. He looked quite a bit like James. The only notable differences were that this man had slightly longer hair, glasses, he was older, and he had amazingly green eyes. Darla knew she recognized him from somewhere, but she had never really been able to remember names based on faces.

James grinned. "Hi, Dad!"

"I'm sorry," the man said, addressing Darla. "Is he bothering you? I asked him not to run around bothering people."

Darla laughed slightly and cuddled Button's close to him. "Oh, of course he was bothering me," she said cheerful. "He's so mean, he came over here and started making fun of Buttons and he called me a Hedge-Pixie! I don't know what's to be done with him!"

"That's because you are a little Hedge-Pixie, Hedge-Pixie!" James ruffled up Darla's hair and grinned.

"James, we've talked about this," the man said, sounding exasperated. "You can't just name people. I'm sorry, he…he just does this."

Darla blinked and laughed again. "I'm only kidding, Mister," she said and rolled her eyes. "James is one of my best good friends, he could never bother me, especially not at Christmastime!"

He paused and looked at James for a moment then back to Darla and then he looked at Buttons. "James," he said sounding horribly shocked. "What in Merlin's name have you done to this little girl's cat?"

"Da, it was like that when I found it!"

"No, James, cats don't look like that."

Darla didn't quite know what to do, so she clutched Buttons tighter to her chest. "Um, actually, sir, this _is_ what my cat looks like…."

Mister Potter seemed a bit confused for a moment. He adjusted his glasses and looked back to Buttons. "It's…supposed to look like that?"

"Is there something going on that I missed…and Darla what is that thing you're holding? I thought you said you were getting a cat…"

Darla looked back and sighed. Why didn't people understand her new pet? "This _is_ a cat, Daddy. His name is Buttons and I love him! And this is James and he doesn't like Buttons."

Theodore looked up and adjusted his glasses. "Oh," he said surprised. "Harry…"

"Theodore," Mister Potter replied curtly.

"And this must be your son."

"One of them. This is James, he's my oldest." Harry and Theodore both seemed a bit awkward around each other, which confused Darla to no end. "And this is your daughter?"

"My only," Theodore replied and put his hand on Darla's shoulder. "So, you're James? Darla has told me almost nothing about you."

"I have so," Darla argued. "You just didn't ask very much about him!"

It seemed that the adults were in their own little world where they were deaf to the arguments made by children. "I see," Harry said and put his hand on James's shoulder. Harry seemed to struggle for a moment to make polite conversation and the smile on his face was very forced. "And your wife—"

"She passed away almost four years ago," Theodore answered instantly.

If it were possible, Darla would have loved for a giant hole to drag her down to the depths of the earth. How could her father so nonchalantly tell someone something like that? She had worked very hard to make sure that no one knew and he had taken that and destroyed it! Didn't he know that such words led to pity? Didn't he remember how terrible pity was? Had it just slipped his mind?

The fake smile slid off Harry's face. "Oh, erm, sorry…"

"Why? It wasn't your fault. How's your wife?"

James stood there for a moment, his mouth slightly agape. It seemed to take a moment for everything to register with him. "We're going over here," he said to no on in particular and pulled himself away from his father. He took Darla by the shoulder and led her away from the adult's conversations.

"You didn't tell me your mum was dead," he said quietly.

Darla shrugged as though it was no big deal. "You never asked."

"I-I'm your best friend," he said sounding hurt. Darla didn't understand why he was hurt by this, it wasn't like it was his mother who had died. "You could've at least let me know."

Again, all Darla could really do was shrug. "Sorry, James, I didn't know that I was supposed to. What am I supposed to do, introduce myself and say 'hi, my name is Darla Nott, I'm small, afraid to fly, my father is a researcher, and I have a dead mother do you want to be my friend?"

James sighed and brushed back his hair. For a moment he just stared at her as though that would help him figure out what he was supposed to say. "You still should have told me."

It just didn't make any sense at all to her. Why was it so important that James knew about her mother? It was important to her, it was a part of her, but she didn't see how if related to James at all. "It's not important, James. It was a very long time ago and it's really not a big deal." She hadn't wanted him to know, it was her own personal secret. "Can we just forget that this ever happened?"

James managed a small smile and reached down to scratch Button's behind the ear. "Yeah, it's Christmas, and according to mum you're not allowed to argue at Christmas…or set fires."

Darla giggled slightly, glad that things had gone back to normal between her and James. She didn't want something as stupid as this to come between them, not when she had worked so hard to keep him as a friend. "Good. Are we still friends?"

"You're so weird," James said and rolled his eyes. "I don't see why we wouldn't be."

"I worry sometimes."

"Well don't."

James had a point there, there was no reason for her to worry herself over something so silly as whether or not they were still friends. She had nearly poisoned him and he was still her friend! If he could stick with her through that then she was certain he could handle anything. "Hey, do me a favour, James, don't mention my momma to anyone at school."

James raised his brow and looked down at her. "You're so weird, but alright, if it means that much to you then I guess that I can keep my mouth shut for a while." He paused and brushed back his hair. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Darla looked up, bemused.

"About your mother…"

This was it, this was the bit of pity that she didn't want any part of. This was exactly why she wanted to keep things to herself. "Don't be, it was a long time ago.'

James looked like he wanted to say that four years wasn't a long time, but he decided against it. "So, what was she like anyway, this secret mother of yours?"

Darla didn't exactly know what to say, she could tell lots of stories that her mother had told her or tell him about how loving she was or anything. She could also tell him about the clouds in her memory of her, about the days and nights that had been bad, but she figured that wasn't something anyone needed to hear about. "She was nice," she finally said. She didn't want to tell James about her mother, she was a bit afraid. It wasn't that she was afraid that James wouldn't like her, but he might not understand how wonderful she had been, or worse he could understand that fully and that might take some of the special away from it. Her mother was hers and hers alone and she didn't want to share any part of her with anyone, even her best friend.

Thankfully, Theodore and Harry had run out of polite things to say to each other before James had the chance to respond. Breaking away from the awkward conversation, Theodore put his hand on Darla's shoulders and forced a smile. "Alright, Spiteful, daddy needs to pick some things up, come along."

"Come on, James, before you get yourself into trouble," Harry said and motioned for James to come over to him.

James gave Darla a one armed hug, making sure he didn't squish Buttons. "Be good, Hedge-Pixie, you'll have to tell me more when we get to school."

Darla decided that she would have to come up with some grand way of distracting James away from her mother once they got back to school. "I see you in a few weeks, James."

"Not if I see you first."

Darla tried to think of something to say to this, but James was happily trotting along beside his father before she managed to come up with anything. Sighing, she turned back and followed her father down the street. She stared down at the ground and chewed on the collar of her shirt, despite the fact that it tasted a bit like cat.

"Something bothering you, Spite," Theodore finally asked.

Darla shrugged and ran her hand across Button's hairless back. "Nothing," she answered and sighed.

"Seems like something…"

She wasn't sure if she could really put into words what she was feeling. Her father didn't know how hard she had worked to keep her personal life a secret from all her friends and she wasn't sure he would understand. After all, he was the one who barely seemed to care about her mother. No, there was no possible way that she would be able to explain it to him without a lot of stuttering and confusion. "It's nothing, Daddy, I'm just a bit tired."

Theodore nodded as though he understood that feeling. "We'll be home soon, I just have to pick something up. I believe that my order came in today."

Darla looked up and blinked several times. "Wait…is that why we came here today?"

"Mostly," he said nonchalantly.

So, they didn't come just to spend some time together, her father had to come in anyway and he had just decided to drag her along! That seemed unfair to her. "So…you didn't just want to come get breakfast with me?"

"It's what they call a win-win situation, Spite."

"No, it's called you win and I get disappointed, again!"

"Spite, don't be like this."

She was living up to her nickname at this point. Darla pouted and didn't speak to her father as they walked to the Apothecary. She didn't say anything when he asked for the ingredients he ordered and she didn't even glance at the box, despite the fact that she wanted to know what was so important. She had plenty of things to say to him, but most of them involved yelling or a lot of swearing so she just kept her mouth shut. To her it seemed that he father was just being selfish. First he had forgotten her, then he had actually hit her, then she had refused to answer any of her questions, drugged her, and now he was only spending time with her because he had to go out anyway! She hugged Buttons close to her and tried to keep herself calmed down.

As soon as they got home Darla tried to hurry off to her room. She did have some homework that she needed to work on and usually school work took her mind off everything. Right before she started to head up the steps she was blocked by her father's cane. Darla wasn't the only one glaring at him, Buttons seemed to sense her anger and narrowed his eye a bit.

"I need to go study," she spat. Darla held Buttons in one arm and put her hand on her hip.

"I don't doubt that," Theodore said in his usual monotone. "Before you do that do you want to tell me why you're acting the way you are right now?"

Darla rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I think that I've been an absolute peach today, all things considered."

"All things considered," Theodore repeated. "All things considered you're being a brat."

Darla simply couldn't believe this! She was trying specifically not to say anything that could be construed as harsh. It was his fault, he was the one stopping her from going to her room! "Look, I'm tired, and shouldn't you be working?"

Theodore sighed but he didn't let his cane down. "I'm working very hard to get along with you right now," he said bluntly. "But you're making it very difficult. Look, I bought you a cat, didn't I? That should have made you happy enough."

Buttons did make Darla quite happy and she loved that he was hers now, but she couldn't suppress her feelings of anger. Defeated, Darla shook her head and looked at the ground. "I just wish that you hadn't told them Momma was dead, alright? I didn't want people to know about it…"

"I didn't think it was supposed to be a secret." Theodore furrowed his brow, trying to understand why someone would think it was a bad thing to have a dead parent unless… "Ah." He nodded as though finally understanding the problem. "I see…it's the look people give you, isn't it?"

Darla took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, it's not that, it's something else," she said quickly. Her father hardly knew anything about her to begin with, she wasn't going to let him be right. "I just don't want them to know how great she was or for them to hear about her and not understand how great she was. I don't want to share her with anyone."

"You share her with me."

"Only because I have to! If it were up to me then I wouldn't share her with anyone, especially not you! I wish I could reach into your brain and pull out all your memories of her!" By this point, Darla was nearly shouting. All the anger that had been building over the past couple of days was overflowing and she didn't know how to control it at all. All she knew to do was get it out so that it wouldn't be so painful anymore. It seemed like maybe if she just said what she was feeling then her chest would stop hurting so much and she could move on. "You-You don't even deserve to remember her! You don't want to remember her! Every time I bring her up you have nothing to say. You won't tell me anything about her! You didn't even cry when she died! I wish that you had died instead of her, I wish it were just me and momma and we could live together and be happy! You're never happy! You're never happy and you forget...you forget everything and I just...I just hate you very much right now."

Darla was half expecting Theodore to reach out and hit her again, but he didn't. When she looked up she realized why. He looked like he was too hurt to move. Instantly, Darla regretted hurting him, she didn't regret what she had said because she had meant every word of it, she just wished that he wouldn't look so…so upset. In that moment she did wish that she could have just kept her feelings to herself.

"You're behaving like a child," Theodore said in a low voice. "Is that any possible way that you're going to apologize?"

Of course, there wasn't any possibility of that. Darla was still angry and upset and she didn't want to set aside her pride again. "Of course I'm behaving like a child! I am a child, daddy, how else am I supposed to behave? I don't even think you know I'm a child! I'm just some short person who happens to sometimes be in your house!"

For the next several seconds the two were locked in a staring contest. Both of them either too angry or upset to speak. Finally, it was Theodore who broke eye contact. He lowered his cane and turned away from her. "Go, Darla, just go."

There was a hint of sadness in his voice, but he was trying to cover it up with his usual monotone drawl. If Theodore had been a total stranger than Darla probably wouldn't have noticed that, but she knew him better than he thought she did. "Daddy," she said and tried to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, but do you have some sort of inability to follow simple directions? I asked you to go, it's a very simple command. Go to your room, like you wanted, and I'll go to my study and work so that we can continue to have a place to live." He didn't look back at her the entire time he was speaking. He just stared straight at the wall in front of him.

It wasn't that he was angry, Darla realized, he was hurt and that was what made the situation so scary. Holding Buttons tight to her chest, Darla started up the steps.

"Darla," Theodore said causing Darla to freeze. "I don't know how you got that stupid notion in your little head that I don't care about your mother, but you need to lose that as soon as you can." He leaned heavily on his cane and headed toward the kitchen. "I loved your mother more than you can possibly even hope to ever understand. And sometimes, when people you love die, you have to be strong. I'm not surprised that you don't know anything about that."

Theodore left Darla alone with those words. Buttons let out one of his half-meows to remind Darla that she wasn't alone, she had him. Darla sat down on the steps and hugged Buttons tight to her chest. She hated everything in that moment. She hated James for pitying her, she hated her Uncle for being a healer but not being able to heal her mother, she hated her mother for dying, she hated Blaise for asking her to talk to her father, and she hated her father for saying things that he wasn't planning on explaining. Why couldn't people just explain the things they said and make life simpler?

Darla managed to get herself standing again and walked slowly to her room as though she were in a funeral march. She wasn't sure if she could believe her father when he said he cared. No, actually she was positive that he could be believed. She had never heard him sound quite like that before. His mask was starting to fall off and it occurred to Darla that her father, despite popular belief, was a person. He was human, and he did have feelings. This realization bothered her. If he was a real person then how could he act like this? How could he be so cold and just leave her? How could any real person ever forget about such things? She liked it better when he was just a man she lived with, a man who felt nothing and showed nothing. Now, it felt like things were different, like things were changing and she couldn't keep up. Clutching both Buttons and Prowly, Darla buried her fact into Button's bald stomach and cried. She cried not only because she was upset, but because things had stopped making sense. She was used to everything being one way. Her father didn't care about her or her mother and that was just the way it was. Now she was starting to realize that he did care about her mother, but where did that leave her? Was she just some thing that happened to live him his house? Was she just an extra obligation that he would rather push off on someone else? What was she?

_A/N: I would like to point out that this is written from Darla's point of view. I don't agree that everything it Theodore's fault, that's just how she's thinking._

_Oh, and I'm never sure if my replies to your reviews go through or not, but in case they don't then I would like to go ahead and take this time to thank you for reading and reviewing. _


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days passed as normally as possible in the Nott household. It was just like it always had been for once. Theodore was locked away in his study, apparently he was on the brink of a breakthrough with his research, and Darla stayed in her room doing or homework of playing with Buttons. The only time they actually saw each other was when they both happened to go down for more coffee. It was awkward when they met up in the kitchen. Neither of them seemed to have much to say, really. Everything that they had said a few nights ago had been enough. Darla wanted to apologize, but she didn't quite know how. She knew from experience that saying 'I'm sorry' was never enough, but she couldn't force any other words to come to her mind. Frustrated, she spend several hours pacing around in her room and trying to make her brain create the right words, but it just wouldn't cooperate with her.

Christmas Eve snuck up on both of them and neither was ready for it at all. Theodore was shut away in his study and decided he couldn't come out and go to the Malfoy's Christmas party. After thinking it over, Theodore muttered something about Darla just flooing over to the Malfoy's on her own. Darla hated this idea, bit she didn't really have the chance to voice her opinion. Theodore had the door to his study locked up tight, and besides that she really wasn't sure what to say. Once again he was working and ignoring her. It wasn't fair, but there was nothing she could do about it other than pout.

The only silver lining was that she did get to wear a very pretty red and grey laced dress. Normally Darla despised the idea of wearing anything girly, but Christmas was the exception. The dress fluttered barley above her knees and gave her the illusion that she had a bit of a chest. Darla's hair was actually brushed into some semblance of a style. Well, it was brushed, in any case, which was saying something considering she usually just let her short hair go in whatever way it wanted to go in the morning. Now it was actually brushed and swept into her eyes. Darla was actually wearing a bit of make-up. Of course, she had completely copied all her make up from a picture of her mother, but she figured no one had to know that. She was even the normal height, of course that mainly had to do with her heels. Then, opting out of normal jewellery, Darla had managed to fasten an old silver pocket watch around her neck.

Another very good thing was that the party wasn't absolutely terrible. Well, maybe it would have been if Darla had actually joined it. Instead of standing around and mingling with her cousins, Darla had settled herself at a small table in a side room with her great aunt. She hadn't even bothered to find Blaise or Mars, she thought that Blaise might want to talk to her about her father again.

They sat together at a small table near the window. The music from the living room was only slightly muffled by the door. Darla could still clearly hear the Christmas songs as she tried to focus on her card game.

The woman sitting across from her was focusing even more the game. She had been quiet for quite a while. Her light blue eyes were narrowed as she stared at the seven cards in her thin hands. Finally, she looked up and stared at Darla. "We're playing hearts, right?"

Darla sighed and nodded. "Yes, we are," she answered despite the fact that they were playing rummy.

A smile crossed over the woman's thin lips, causing wrinkles to appear under her eyes. "I've won," she said and laid down her cards on the table.

"You win again," Darla said and managed a small smile. She did enjoy the time she got to spend with her great aunt, even though it could be a bit testing at times.

Narcissa gathered up the cards, as she did her smile seemed to falter. She blinked and looked back up to Darla as though she just noticed she was there. "Well, don't let papa know, you know how he feels about us playing cards like this, Andy," Narcissa said in a childish whisper.

Darla had been through this several times before and she knew that it was much easier just to play along than it would be to try to explain that she wasn't whoever this 'Andy' person was. "Oh, of course, we wouldn't want him to get angry now, would we?"

"Of course not." Narcissa sighed and toyed with her thin blonde hair. "So, are you still going with that Hufflepuff boy?"

At that, Darla looked up and it took her a moment to remember that he great aunt thought that she was someone else. Still… "We're just friends right now," she told her. "I don't think I really want to go with anyone right now."

"Oh, well…that could be for the best, you know what papa and Bella think of him…but if you really loved him…." Narcissa paused and started dealing out the cards. "We're playing hearts, right?"

Again, Darla simply nodded.

Narcissa reached forward to brush Darla's hair from her eyes. She pulled her hair back and considered Darla for a moment then looked down at the table. "Andy, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry for everything."

Darla watched the tears welling up in her Great Aunt's eyes and she realized that she had no idea what to do. "It's okay," she finally managed to say.

"No, it's not, Andy. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said the awful things I said, I shouldn't have done the things I did." By this point, the woman was beginning to get hysterical. Her hands were shaking and tears were starting to stream down her cheeks. "I-I was horrible to you a-and to Ted…"

The door swung open, quite thankfully, and Draco was at his mother's side so fast it almost seemed like he had apparated over there. He put his arms around her and held his mother like she was a child. "Hey," he said softly and put his head on her shoulder. "It's alright, I'm here now, don't worry."

Narcissa blinked and brought a shaky hand up to rest on Draco's cheek. "Lucius," she whispered.

"No, mother, its Draco, remember? Lucius is dead, remember," Draco reminded her with more patience than Darla thought was possible for anyone.

"Draco," Narcissa whispered back.

"That's right, mum, that's right."

"Oh Merlin, Draco." Tears started to fall down her face and she was shaking worse than before. "Oh, Draco, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…I should have been a better mother."

Draco sighed and brushed Narcissa's hair back. "You were a great mother, you still are. C'mon, let's get you up to bed, alright?"

Narcissa let Draco help her up and leaned on her shoulder. "Y-yes, I think…"

"It's okay, you're just tired." Draco looked over to Darla. "I'm taking her up to bed, I'll be back in a bit."

Darla nodded and gathered up the cards from the table. She watched her uncle through the corner of her eye as he half carried his still crying mother up the steps. Something occurred to Darla that she hadn't thought about before. He worked at St. Mungos, cared for his mother, took care of his wife and Scorpius, and even took the time to pay attention to her and her father. He seemed to take care of everyone. He had even tried to fix whatever was wrong with Theodore. He could easily have put his mother in St. Mungos and washed his hands of all of it, but he hadn't even though it was obviously both physically and mentally exhausting. Darla realized then that there was something wrong with her uncle. He wasn't alright and he hadn't been for a very long time.

"There you are, Nottlette."

Darla looked up and was a bit surprised to see Blaise standing over her. She wondered how long he had been there. "Hi."

Blaise forced a smile and took the empty seat in front of Darla. "You should really come out and join the party. Astoria is drunk and it's hilarious."

Maybe Blaise thought that people drinking was the highest humour possible, but Darla really couldn't see anything funny about the situation. "Forgive m, Uncle Blaise, but I'm really in no mood to party at the moment." Darla stacked the cards up and put them away in the box. She could still hear her great aunt's muffled sobs. It just didn't seem fair to her that she should have any sort of fun while her great aunt and her uncle were suffering so much.

"Alright," Blaise said and propped his head up on his hand. "Tell Uncle Blaise what is going on in that pretty little mind of yours."

After a moment of thought, Darla decided that maybe this was something to ask Blaise about. Her father didn't have the time for such conversation and she didn't think it would be appropriate to ask her uncle about it. "Do you think it was for the best that momma died," Darla finally asked.

The smile slid off Blaise's feet and he tapped his foot on the ground. It seemed he was having trouble getting the gears in his brain to turn. "Darla, dear, we never want anyone to die. I think, in ways, it would have been better for you and your father if she hadn't passed." Blaise took a deep breath before he continued. "I know that toward the end her mind started to slip a bit. Maybe it was for the best that she passed. She's in a better place now, a place where she isn't in pain"

Darla had heard this before, that it was better that her mother wasn't in pain anymore. She had heard it so many times that it seemed more like an excuse than a reason. "I barely saw her once her mind went," Darla admitted. Draco didn't want her in the room then. Maybe he was trying to shield her, but she always found a way to sneak in. She knew it would have been better if she had just listened to him. "But…I guess you're right."

"I am. Now then," Blaise said a bit more cheerfully. "All this talk of death is really not in the Christmas Spirit, Nottlette. How about we go back and join that party, eh?"

"One more thing," Darla said quickly to keep Blaise from getting up. "Is Uncle Draco…is he alright?"

Blaise sighed and lost his smile again. He rubbed his temples and thought for a moment. "Look, Nottlette, Draco is a very strange man, he always has been. If he's acting oddly then he's normal. Now, if he starts acting normal then we have a serious problem on our hands."

"Am I all anyone can talk about?" Draco leaned over the banister. He was smiling which, given the situation, Darla thought was very odd. Then again, odd was supposed to be normal.

Blaise grinned and looked up. "We just miss you ever so much, Draco!"

Draco rolled his eyes and sauntered down the steps. "You two must not have gotten the memo, but there is a party happening in the other room. Yet, here the two of you are, ignoring everyone else." He sat down at the table and leaned back. "Not that I can blame you at all. It's much quieter in here."

"We could play cards," Darla offered and held up the deck. "I mean…I'm not really in the party mood."

"We could play hearts," Blaise offered.

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked over at Blaise. "You need four people to play hearts, Blaise. In case you can't count, there are three people at this table."

For just a moment, Blaise's jaw tightened and he glared at Draco. "Well, if Theodork was here—"

"I am here."

All at once, everyone turned and looked over at the doorway. Theodore leaned against the doorframe. This might have been incredibly exciting had it not been for one small detail. Theodore's blazer was covered in blood. "Draco, I need your help," he said a little too calmly.

Darla tried to get up but Blaise put his hand on her shoulder to keep her down. Draco, a more than a little worried, pushed back his chair but he didn't immediately go over to Theodore. "Merlin, Theodore, you're covered in blood. What's going on?"

"Remember how I told you my plan was perfect except for the small chance of everything going wrong," Theodore asked worry finally coming through in his voice. "I messed up, Draco."

"I told you not to try it without help," Draco growled as he grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. "Dear Merlin, Theodore, the ministry would have your head if they knew about this."

"Exactly why I came to you, now come on," he urged and turned away. "I'll explain everything once we get there. Just come on."

Darla pushed Blaise's hand off her shoulder and got up. "Daddy…"

Theodore paused and looked down. "Spite, now really isn't the time."

"Daddy—"

Draco pulled on his coat and looked at Blaise and Darla. "Blaise, can you take her tonight, I don't think…if Theodore's little experiment went wrong…."

Blaise held up his hand and nodded. "We'll go to my place right away, I don't think that there's anymore time for a party…"

"Thanks, Blaise…Theodore?"

Theodore rubbed his temples and looked back. "Thank you, Blaise. I'll owl you once everything is back to normal. But right now we really need to go. We-we've wasted too much time here."

"I swear to God, if it's another blood mummy, Theodore, I'll kill you." Draco muttered.

Theodore shook his head. "It's much worse than that," he told him flatly before they both disappeared with a small pop.

Darla had no idea what was going on. All she could think about was how incredibly dangerous her father's experiment had looked. She wondered what had gone wrong and how bad it really was. It was strange. When James had a problem it was easily solved by coming up with a new plan or slightly tweaking something, but when Theodore had a problem everything seemed to get serious.

Blaise shook Darla lightly, bringing her back to reality. His smile had now faded completely and he looked unusually sombre. "Darla, come on, we've got to go, alright?"

It felt like someone else moving, Darla felt like she wasn't in control of her own body. She was standing and following behind Blaise, but her body felt numb. She was almost certain that whatever was happening was serious, she hadn't seen her father look so worried since her mother was sick.

"I'll find Mars, you wait right here, understand?"

Darla heard her father talking, but for some reason she couldn't quite understand the words. She blinked and stared blankly ahead.

Blaise looked down and put his hands on Darla's shoulders. "Hey, Nottlette, wait here, okay," he said a bit more slowly. "Understand? Wait here, wait right here."

Finally, Darla nodded and leaned against the wall. "You're finding Mars, I'll wait here," she repeated.

"Good girl, I'll be right back," he said before disappearing into the crowd.

The music in the room was muffled by the ringing in her ears and she vaguely heard Scorpius say something to her. She didn't care, she didn't have time to care, she only had the time to think about what was wrong with her father.

"Hey, I was talking to you, Darling," Scorpius said and put his hand on Darla's shoulder. "Did you forget our…Woah, what happened to you?"

Darla blinked and looked up at her cousin. She wasn't in the mood to entertain him at all. Annoyed, Darla knocked Scorpius's hand off her shoulder and crossed her arms. "Go away," she snapped.

Of course, Scorpius wasn't the type of person to give up that easily. He leaned back against the wall next to Darla and considered her for a moment. "I saw your dad," he said and stared out at the crowd. "What was wrong with him, he looked bad?"

"His experiment went wrong," Darla explained in a perfectly monotone voice.

Scorpius nodded as though he understood, but Darla had a feeling that he didn't know what it meant for this experiment to go haywire, but he didn't ask and she didn't feel like explaining. Scorpius was quiet for a while and Darla felt like Blaise was taking forever to get back with Mars. "Are you alright?"

Darla shrugged and closed her eyes. "I don't see why you give a damn," she said bluntly. She was already annoyed and upset, she really didn't want Scorpius adding to that. All she needed was for him to go away.

"Well, you know, I am still your older cousin. I'm going to pick on you, you know that, and I'm going to be mean to you because you're little, but when something like this happens, well…I don't know. You seem pretty upset, I just thought—"

The two were interrupted before Scorpius managed to say exactly what he thought. Mars stepped forward, closely followed by Blaise. "Malfoy, sod off," he snapped and took Darla by the arm.

"Mars," Blaise said trying to remain calm. "That's no way to act, come on."

Mars glared at Scorpius for a moment before he put his arm around Darla's shoulder. "Come on, we'll get you home."

Darla offered Scorpius a weak smile before she leaned against Mars. She didn't know him very well, but she was thankful that he was there and that he was solid. Though, admittedly, she would have preferred to have one of her closer friends there with her. It was strange to walk so close with people she barely knew, but she didn't care.

~x~

No one was really able to sleep. Darla stared out the kitchen window, waiting to see if an owl would come or not. She had been doing this for the last several hours, not even taking the time to explore the large house. She still wore her Christmas dress, it seemed like too much effort to try and change. It seemed like too much effort to do anything but sit there and think. Vaguely, she wondered what a Blood Mummy was. Everything she came up with was so terrible that even if she had tried to sleep she was certain her dreams would be interrupted by the horrible monsters she was coming up with. Even as she stared at the rising sun, all she could see in her mind was her father being violently attacked by creatures with horrible long nails, wrapped in bandages and absolutely covered in blood. She couldn't imagine anything that could be any worse than that, so what was the thing her father had created? She knew she should have hidden his work better or at least tried to talk to him more! How could she have been so stupid? What if something happened? Would her last words to her father have been wishing death upon him?

The sun broke over the mountains, casting light onto Darla's face. She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned back against the bay window. She could hear Blaise pacing around in the room above her. She wondered if he was just as worried as she was. After all, he was her father's best friend, right? He had a reason to be worried. Still, she wished he would go to sleep, someone needed to sleep. Mars had been coming down the steps but never quite came into the kitchen. It seemed like he just wanted to make sure she was still alive, which Darla found ridiculous. Did he expect her to spontaneously combust?

The whole situation was starting to make Darla feel sick. She had been absolutely horrible to her father, she had acted like she didn't even care. She had always thought that 'worried sick' was just colourful language, she had never even considered it to be a real thing. Nauseous and exhausted, Darla rested her head on her knees. She couldn't cry, no, that wasn't an option. She remembered what her father had said to her before 'sometimes, when people you love die, you have to be strong.' Even though he wasn't dead, she had to be strong.

Suddenly, Darla's view of the rising sun was broken. Squinting, she could just make out the silhouette of an owl soaring through the cold morning air. Darla jumped up and opened the window. She was about to call for Blaise, but she stopped herself. She wanted to find out what happened by herself. The owl flew in through the window and settled himself on the kitchen table. Thankfully, it wasn't Nip. Darla's hands were shaking so badly that it took her a good two minutes to get the letter off the owl's leg. She unfolded the parchment and laid it out on the table.

_Blaise,  
_

_ Last night was difficult. In case this letter is intercepted I won't give you all the details. We'll talk once you get to St. Mungos._

Darla paused and stared at that sentence for a while. They were in St. Mungos? Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. Was her father in the hospital? Had it really been that bad?

_ I can tell you that Theodore's experiment worked in some ways. But, it just...it wasn't right. Nothing turned out right. Again, I'll explain when you get here. Theodore is stable right now, he's a bit in and out of it, but it looks as though we're hoping that he makes a full recovery. Thus far, it's looking like he is but we still have to watch 's in Chymische Hochzeit ward._

_ You can come by whenever everyone is awake. There is no rush right now, Theodore isn't going anywhere right now. Hopefully he'll be awake when you get here. Tell Darla that he's alright._

_ Draco Malfoy._

Darla refolded the letter and hurried up the old staircase. This was great! It sounded, to her, as though her father was going to be perfectly alright! She would have all the time in the world to make up for all the things she had said to him. Everything was going to be alright. Without knocking, she burst into Blaise's room and very nearly ran straight into him. "Read this," she said her voice hoarse.

"Hold still, Nottlette," Blaise said sounding absolutely exhausted. He took the letter and scanned over it, grimacing a bit. Apparently Blaise wasn't as excited by the news as Darla was. In fact, he looked as though the letter said that Theodore was already dead. "You should really get some sleep, Darla."

Instantly, Darla's face fell and she felt like shaking Blaise until her understood how impossible sleep was. She settled for grabbing his arm and attempting to pull him out the door, which worked well in theory, but in actuality, Blaise was much taller than Darla and this made it impossible for her to pull him anywhere. "No, this can't wait! I promise I'll sleep as soon as we get back! We have to go! We have to, have to, have to go right now!"

"Draco said there was no rush—"

"But there is a rush! Please?" All Darla wanted was to see her father. Maybe she was just worried, but maybe she wanted to make sure her uncle hadn't been lying. Either way, she wanted to go.

After a moment of hesitation, Blaise sighed and ruffled Darla's hair, something she usually hated but she didn't complain this time. "Alright, peaches, grab your coat. But as soon as we get home you're going to bed, alright?"

Darla grinned and wrapped her arms around Blaise's waist. "Thank you," she practically squealed before trotting off the find her coat.

~x~

The white walled building was quite possibly the most uninviting place that Darla had ever been in her entire life. She passed by a witch covered in boils so badly that it took Darla a moment to realize she was human at all and a man whose face was covered in soot and burns. Blaise tried to keep close to Darla, but she was hurrying through the corridor as quickly as she could, though she barely knew where she was going. She seemed to realize this because she abruptly stopped and stared at the sign on the wall.

Blaise leaned over Darla and looked at the sign. "Fourth floor," he told her after a moment. "Spell damage, which seems to be the right place."

Darla read over the sign. Spell damage: unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, ect. Well, that didn't sound terribly serious, right? She followed Blaise down the corridor and up a rickety staircase. The staircase was lined with portraits of former healers who kept informing them that they had serious conditions. Darla might have been worried by this if Blaise hadn't told her that this was just what they did and she didn't have 'Plutitous'.

"Ah, I didn't expect the two of you so early," Draco said almost the instant they stepped through the double doors. He scrunched up his nose and looked at the two of them for a moment before he approached Darla and ran a finger under her eye. "You, dear, need some sleep. So do you, Zabini."

"I wanted to sleep," Blaise argued. "But, someone has the very same tenacity that one Miss Greengrass had. Now, you might want to take her to see 'Dork before she explodes."

Darla felt more anxious now than she had when she had been waiting for the letter. Maybe it was because of how grim everyone looked. But she was starting to feel as though she might be sick. She looked at the row of doors down the corridor. Her father could be in any of them. She just hoped he wasn't in the room closest to her, there was some horrible moaning coming from in there and it smelled like a bakery gone wrong. She swallowed and looked up. "Can I see my daddy now?"

Draco tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace. "Of course, dear, follow me."

Grabbing onto the back of Draco's purple robes, Darla followed him down almost to the end of the corridor. Her anxiety grew and it felt like she couldn't breathe as they walked through the door. The shades had been pulled, making the room quite dark and it smelled metallic. It took Darla a minute to recognize the smell as blood and she was instantly plunged into her worst memory and her nightmare world. Her vision became cloudy and all she closed her eyes, which only made her remember more. The whole room covered in blood, the smell of death in the air, and her mother lying there, not quite dead and nowhere near alive. Darla clutched her stomach and bit her lip to keep herself from being sick.

"Spite?"

The dry, cracking voice brought Darla back to the present. Her eyes flickered open and she saw the room for what it really was; a white walled and clean room with a single bed in it. Her eyes locked on her father. He didn't look terrible, but he certainly had looked better. His face was badly bruised and hit lip had been split open. There was a bandage wrapped around his head and his eye was horrible swollen. If Darla hadn't known his voice then she wouldn't have recognized him at all.

Bravely stepping forward, Darla looked over at him and blinked back tears. He kept closing his eyes and looked as though he was having trouble staying awake. "Daddy?"

It had been a while since Darla had seen a genuine smile on her father's face, but he was certainly wearing one now. "Come here," he said and motioned to her.

No longer scared, Darla practically ran to the bed and did something very un-Darla-like. She actually climbed into Theodore's bed and pressed her face against his chest. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of Dragon's Blood and sweat, but she didn't care. All she could thank about was how happy she was that he was here and he was alive. "I'm sorry," she muttered her voice muffled by the blanket.

Theodore brushed back Darla's hair and shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about, it's alright, everything is alright, I promise."

"No it's not," she muttered. Everything was perfectly not alright. The only good thing was that Theodore was alive, other than that Darla had a lot of things she could mention that were wrong. "I said things that were simply horrible, just horrible. I don't want you to die."

Theodore looked down at her and sighed. "No one is dying, Spite, not today."

Darla closed her eyes and adjusted herself until she was in a more comfortably position. It hadn't occurred to her until just then that she was absolutely exhausted. "I don't hate you," she said her voice muddled with sleep.

"I know," Theodore said simply and rested his chin against Darla's head. "People say things out of anger, it's alright. Right now I'm just glad you're here. I'm glad you weren't at home last night."

"What happened," she asked slipping into sleep.

Theodore closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his daughter, keeping her close to him. "Don't worry about it, just a little mistake."

Darla wanted to know about what happened and what caused her father to get so badly injured, but she really just wanted to sleep. For the first time in a while, Darla felt perfectly safe. She and Theodore may not have been much of a family, but they still were one. And that, Darla realized, was all that really mattered. "I love you…"

"I know, I know."

No longer able to keep her eyes open, Darla fell asleep against her father. She wasn't sure how long she actually slept, but by the time her eyes did flicker open it was dark outside and the ward was quiet. For a moment, she considered getting up, but it seemed like a lot of effort. Her father's arm was still around her waist, keeping her from moving too much anyway.

"Draco, listen to me," Theodore was saying in a harsh whisper. "It worked, you saw it work."

"No, Theodore, it didn't," Draco told him softly. "That…everything that happened, that wasn't anything working."

"No, Draco, it worked, it just needs some tweaking."

"Theodore," Blaise said in a gentle voice. "It just didn't work, it won't work, stop this. Just, stop all of it."

"You weren't even there," Draco interjected. "You didn't see that…that thing."

Darla felt Theodore tense up and his grip tightened on her shirt. "That thing was my wife, Malfoy, don't you call her a thing! She was there," he growled.

In that moment, Darla's mind started working overtime. Theodore's experiment…it had actually worked? He had brought her mother back to life? She wanted to jump up and ask where her mother was, what they had done with her. It took all her effort to lie still. Her heart felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest and there was a horrible buzzing in her ears so bad that she had to strain to hear.

"That wasn't Daphne, Theodore," Draco said as though he was talking to a child. "If it was her then you wouldn't have come to get me. If it was really Daphne then she wouldn't have…she wouldn't have attacked you."

"She was afraid," Theodore said his voice growing louder and angrier. "If you had been dead for four years you would be scared too when you got back! I had her back…she just came back wrong. I can do it, I just need time."

Blaise stepped forward and brushed back Theodore's hair. He glanced down at Darla and sighed. "Theodore, you can't. You've seen what happens when you try. Look around you for a minute, though. You don't need to bring her back, you already have the biggest piece of her right here." He moved his hand down and lightly brushed back Darla's hair from her face. "Take care of your daughter, Theodore. If you do that then I promise you, she'll grow up to be just like her mother."

For a few moments, Theodore was silent. He loosened his grip on Darla and moved his hand to his chest. "I would like for you all to leave now."

Draco sighed. "Theodore."

"All of you, out…I just want to sleep right now, I'm exhausted."

"Alright, Draco step back. We'll be back tomorrow, Theodore," Blaise told him. "And you'll move past this, I promise."

It wasn't until the footsteps faded out into the hallway that Theodore moved. He put his arm back around Darla and sighed. "You're awake, aren't you, Spite?"

For a moment, Darla laid still but finally her anxiety got the better of her and she opened her eyes and sat up slightly. The room was so dark that she could barley make out her father's swollen features. "How did you know," she asked instead of asking the hundred questions that were already filling her head.

"I'm your father, I know these things," he explained flatly. "Also, your eyelids were fluttering, you obviously weren't asleep. …How much did you hear?"

Darla laid her head down on her father's chest and listened to his calming heartbeat. She wasn't sure if her father would get angry with her for eavesdropping or if he had expected her to hear. "You brought Momma back," she finally said deciding that the truth was best. "What does that mean?"

Theodore looked down and sighed. "It means that my theory needs a bit more work later on," he explained sounding very unsure of himself. "But for now…for now it's just going to be you and I, alright? For now…for now you and I are going to be a family, okay?"

Darla looked up, blinked, and a smile crossed over her face. They were going to be a family. An actual family. It didn't matter that her father was battered and bruised, it didn't matter that he had forgotten her birthday. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that they were a family. The smile quickly faded and Darla laid her head back down. "For how long," she asked.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Forever, Dar. No more…no more distance, no more…no more forgetting, no more of any of that. Just the two of us, alright?" He smiled and leaned back. "And the first thing we have to do is figure out how we're going to get out of here tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I would like to enjoy some of your Christmas holiday and we're not going to be able to do that in a hospital ward. For right now, though, go to sleep, we'll figure it out tomorrow." Theodore leaned down lightly and kissed Darla on the forehead.

In all honesty, Darla didn't know how long her father would remain her father. She didn't know how long it would take before he went back to the place he had been for so long. Eventually, she was almost certain, he would resume to hiding in his study, working on impossible theories, and avoiding the whole world. Still, while he was here and he was with her, she was going to enjoy it. It may not have been a typical Christmas, but it was the best Darla could remember having. No real presents were exchanged, but she was still quite happy. People were alive and everyone was safe and they were together. It was, by far, a perfect Christmas.

_A/n: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I'm also sorry that it's so short for so much to have happened. The next one should be longer and, well, better. Thanks. JEP._


	11. Chapter 11

"Draco, I swear to you, I'm fine. I can walk as well as before, I can move all my limbs, and I'm not planning on attempting anything. Just let me out of here, alright?"

Draco didn't look like he agreed at all with any of what Theodore had said. He looked down at the charts and shook his head. "Theodore…no, just…no. You nearly died, you're not psychologically stable…Theodore, I would really like you to stay here for at least the next couple of days." It sounded like Draco didn't just want Theodore to stay, he needed him to stay.

Theodore looked down and gave Darla a slight nudge. They had been over this whole plan earlier that morning and Darla was fairly certain she knew her part. All she had to do was act the part of the sad and scared little girl and everything would go perfect. "Uncle Draco," she whined and widened her eyes slightly. "Are you saying that Daddy can't come home? I mean, I go back to school in just a couple of days and I want to see my daddy outside of the hospital."

Unfortunately for both of them, Draco didn't seem like he was caving. He looked at both of them and quirked an eyebrow. "Did the two of you plan this out? It's not going to work. Theodore, you have to stay here, no amount of whining is going to change my mind, I'm sorry. So, please, please go back to bed," he pleaded and brushed back his hair.

Theodore leaned on his cane and limped forward, relying on his cane more than usual. "Malfoy, listen," he said lowering his voice slightly. "You're a healer, and you're great at what you do." It sounded as though it actually physically hurt him to say that. "You can come by the house if you want, and, um, how about I come back? Just give me a couple of days. I just want to spend the last couple of days here with my daughter…"

Draco groaned and looked back to the chart. "Theodore, I can't…you'll come back?"

"Three days, that's all I need. Let me go home for three days and then I'll be back once I know that Darla is safe and back at school."

Draco closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's like arguing with a child. Alright, I'll write you your leave and you can go. But, if you're not back here in three days to follow up then I will come get you and you won't be happy about it."

"Thank you," Theodore said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, don't mention it," Draco said begrudgingly. "And next time you decide to start doing…this, don't ruin my party in the process!"

Darla trotted forward and grabbed Theodore's free hand. The plan hadn't gone exactly as she had picture it, but something had worked. "We're going home," she asked and grinned.

"We sure are, right Draco?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you win, Nott. I don't quite know how, but you won. I'll see you in a couple of days." He rolled his eyes, still looking like he didn't like what was going on. He threw his hand up in a small wave and hurried off down the hall.

Theodore smiled and looked back down to Darla. "And that, Spite, is how you beat a Malfoy. Just use logic, they won't know what to do with it, they'll get confused, and they won't be able to argue back. That's how I got through all of Hogwarts."

"Duly noted!"

"Good, good. Now, let's go home, I'm certain that there are presents that need to be ripped apart."

Darla smiled and trotted out of her father's room and into the corridor. Of course, she had to slow down on the stairs so that Theodore could keep up with her. Thus far, Theodore hadn't mentioned anything else about his experiment gone wrong and Darla really didn't want to ask. She was a bit afraid, to be honest. She didn't want to know what had happened or what happened. The whole thing terrified her to no end and she just wanted to enjoy the time she had with her father without giving him any reason to go back to work.

"Spite, dear, slow down before you—ugh."

Darla had just started listening to her father when she crashed into someone in the lobby. It took her a moment to recognize the person she had run directly into. She shook her head and took a step back. "Oh, Professor Longbottom," she said cheerfully. "Happy Christmas!"

Neville blinked and managed a small smile, though it was very, very forced. "Oh, Miss Nott, I didn't recognize you without James and Freddie by your side."

Grinning, Darla backed up a bit more and took her father's hand. "What are you doing here, Professor?"

Theodore nudged Darla slightly. "Darla, honey, that's rude, don't be rude."

"It's fine, erm, Theodore," he said sounding as though it was awkward for him to call Theodore by his first name. "Your daughter is in my house, I'm kind of used to her…bluntness," Neville explained and dropped his forced smile. "I'm just visiting my father, Darla. Now, what are you doing here?"

Quickly, Theodore put his arm around Darla's shoulder, pulling her a bit closer. "Leaving, that's what we're doing here, we're leaving."

Neville raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Some people never change, I suppose," he muttered under his breath. "I'll see you in a few days, Darla, take care."

"You too, Professor," Darla muttered as she was pulled away by her father.

The two of them walked out into the bright sunlight and Darla glanced up at the sky. Snow was starting to fall again on the already white ground. St. Mungos disappeared behind them, disguised as a rundown building. "Daddy," Darla said and leaned against him. "Why didn't you tell Professor Longbottom that you got hurt?" It seemed like a ridiculous thing to do. What was so bad about being injured? It happened to the best of people.

"Spite, dear, what have I told you about asking stupid questions?" Theodore stopped walking and pulled his arm off of Darla's shoulder. He lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Spite, I'll try not to say things like that."

"And I'll try not to ask stupid questions."

It wasn't going to be easy at all. It was going to be a lot of hard work on both their parts to get along. But, Darla figured that they could do it if they both tried. In the end it would be worth it, Darla had to believe that much.

When finally returned back home Darla was greeted with three things. The first was a large pile of gifts on the doorstep from James, Freddie, Lily, Adam, Lorcan and Lysander, and even Maggie had sent her something. This got her much more in the Christmas spirit and she made a note to go and get everyone presents before she went back to school. Next, a very hungry and anxious Buttons stood waiting when they opened the door. He let out his pathetic meow and rubbed against Darla's legs until she finally sat her gifts on the kitchen table and picked him up. As soon as she had Buttons in her arms, Darla noticed that something was amiss. The cat was sticky. Lifting him up, Darla realized why. His stomach was covered in blood. Panicking, Darla turned him over, looking for any sort of wound. Then she discovered the cause of the blood.

Stepping into the living room, Darla was greeted finally with the mess their house had become. The walls were sprayed with blood and the wallpaper was barely hanging onto the walls. The sofa had been flipped over, torn open and stuffing covered the scuffed up hardwood floor. Darla dropped Buttons on the floor and backed up until she backed into her father. "What…what the hell?"

Theodore quickly put one arm around Darla's waist and literally pulled her back into the kitchen. "Sorry about that, I suppose Draco just forgot to clean up," he muttered quickly. "I'll make some tea or something for you and then I'll get the house back in order."

"What happened here," Darla asked frantically. She held onto her father tightly, trying to keep him with her. What if whatever had done that to the house was still out there, waiting? What if it was one of those blood mummies that she had dreamed about?

Theodore sighed and managed to pry Darla off his arm. "You know that the experiment went slightly wrong, right? Well, that's kind of what happened. Please, just wait here while I get it all cleaned up. Open your gifts or something."

As Theodore disappeared back into the living room, Darla sat down, alone, at the kitchen table. She didn't really feel like opening anything. By now she was far too concerned with what happened to the house to worry about what people had gotten her. Still, she had to try, for her father. Mechanically, she peeled off the paper from each of the gifts. Adam had sent her enough Sugar Quills to last a month, Lily had sent her a how-to guide on riding a broom, Freddie, oddly, sent her a large maroon jumper with the letter 'F' stitched into the front. Darla wasn't quite sure what to make of this, but she pulled the jumper on anyway and rolled up the sleeves. Then from Maggie she had gotten a book of fairy-tales she assumed was from the muggle world because the pictures didn't move. Darla flipped through the thin pages, reading titles she didn't recognize from any fairy-tale she had ever heard. Lysander, being Lysander, had sent her a small collection of preserved bugs. This included a note that said 'I have collected these from Hogwarts over the last semester, I hope that you can do a better job indentifying them than I did'. Most of them just looked like ants. Lorcan, being the saner of the two, had sent Darla a small silver looking ball that, when thrown, latched onto the ceiling and produced small twinkling lights and then came back down when you asked it to nicely. Also included was a note saying 'I'm terribly sorry about Lysander, he's insane, ignore him'. Though, the best gift of all came from James. At first it appeared to be a small stuffed hedgehog, but then it transfigured itself into a small creature that resembled a brownish-blue pixie. There was a note with it saying 'Since you're my Hedge-Pixie I thought you should have one of your own. Mum helped with the Transfigurations. Also, I thought you could use a new stuffed animal since that owl is getting a bit rough'. By the time Darla discovered this she had almost completely forgotten about her father trying to clean up the house.

She was reminded, however, when Theodore limped back into the kitchen and examined the mess of wrapping paper on the floor. "Quite a lot you've got there, Spite," he said as his eyes moved to the presents on the table.

"Oh, yes, my friends are very…." She looked down at the dead bugs. "Interesting, that's for sure." She clutched her stuffed Hedge-Pixie to her chest and smiled again. Opening the presents had made her feel a lot better about everything.

"Mind me asking what that is that you're wearing?"

Darla looked down at her jumper and grinned broadly. "My friend Freddie sent it to me. I guess he didn't want me to forgot what letter his name started with."

Theodore raised and eyebrow and looked at the jumper and then at the box of bugs. "And that it…"

"Oh…" Darla put the lid back on her bugs. "Um…I don't really…some of my friends are weird…"

"That's alright, I was friends with Draco back in school, I can't rightfully say anything about you having weird friends." Theodore reached into his pocket. "Well, during the other night's…excitement, a lot was destroyed. But I managed to save this for you. Ignore the wrapping job."

Theodore threw a small box on the table unceremoniously. It wasn't wrapped well at all. In fact, it looked as though Theodore had simply taken whatever was left over from the Daily Prophet and tapped it over the box. It was, however, better than most of the presents she received, which weren't usually wrapped. "Thank you," she said happily and pulled the newspaper off to reveal a small black velvet box. Carefully, Darla opened the box and pulled out a small golden locket from inside. It was a very simple locket, very plain with a very plain chain. Darla turned it over and noticed a small inscription on the back. _With love, to Daphne._

"It was your mother's," Theodore explained and looked at the ground. "I, uh, I got it for her when we first got married. I'm not going to wear it…so, I thought maybe…I, uh, I changed the picture inside it for you…"

Darla didn't quite know what to say. She held tight to her hedgehog and stared down at the locket. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed the small button on the side to open the locket. It stuck a bit from lack of use, but it finally opened and she could see a small mirror on one side that displayed her own reflection and on the other side was a picture of her mother when she was younger. Her dark brown hair had been curled and fell gently over her pale face. Her dark brown eyes met Darla's and she offered her a small smile. Darla quickly closed the locket back and tried to think of what to say. She knew she should say 'thank you', but for some reason the words just wouldn't come.

"What was she like," Darla asked and stared down at the locket in the hands. "Momma. When you brought her back, I mean…."

Theodore shifted his weight slightly and leaned forward on his cane. "She was…scared, I suppose," he said though it sounded as though he didn't quite believe that himself. "That's why the house was so…I need to take more time to work it all out, Darla. Soon enough it'll be—"

"No!" Darla snapped her head up. She didn't think about what she saying, she just said what she was feeling. "I-I love momma, I do, but if it's going to hurt you, if there's a possibility that this whole mess is going to happen again, then I don't want you to do it. If bringing Momma back is going to kill you then you can't do it!" She was nearly frantic as she spoke. She had seen what it felt like to almost lose him once and she didn't want to have to go through it again. In fact, she wasn't sure she could go through it again. Jumping up, Darla wrapped her arms around Theodore's good leg, sending him a little off balance. "I already lost momma, I can't lose you too."

Theodore swayed for a moment and had to quickly steady himself with his cane. Once he was back on his feet, Theodore looked down at Darla as though seeing her for the first time. He put his arm around her shoulder, maybe because he needed the extra standing support or maybe to try and calm her down. "C'mon, Spite, calm down, alright? I'm not going anywhere, no one is losing anyone right now."

Darla buried her face in Theodore's shirt and held onto him tight as though afraid he would disappear on the spot. "Promise?"

"Yes, dear, I promise. I'll still be here when you come back for the summer, alright?"

"Alright…" Darla couldn't help but be at least a little bit afraid. She couldn't believe that her father still wanted to experiment with the very thing that had almost killed him!

"Spite?"

"What?"

"You can let go now, dear."

"Oh, right." Darla managed a small smile and let go of her father's leg. Maybe she was just being ridiculous. After all, he had said that they were going to be a real family, at least for a little while. As long as she was here she could keep him away from work. She sat back down and put the locket on her neck, afraid she might lose it if she didn't keep it one her.

Now free from Darla's hold, Theodore moved out a chair and sat down at the table. He drummed his fingers against the table and tried to think of what to say. "I'm out of practise with this whole having polite conversation thing," he admitted and adjusted his glasses. "So, maybe you can start…tell me something I don't know."

At first, Darla thought that it would be difficult to talk to him. How was she supposed to know what would interest him? It was a little awkward at first as she told him about James and Freddie. He didn't look very interested until she started talking about the prank with the owls they had pulled. His eyebrows rose until they were hidden under his hair.

Theodore laughed slightly and tried to follow. "I'm sorry, back up…how did that one boy manage to catch an owl?"

"Lysander? Oh, we don't know. We don't really know how he does anything, but he's really smart." Explaining Lysander, Darla realized, would be like trying to explain the colour blue. It just couldn't be done. Theodore would have to see Lysander to really understand him. "Are you tired?"

Anyone could have seen how tired Theodore was. He had, after all, just gotten out of St Mungos and had a difficult last few days. "Exhausted is a much better word for it. But, really, don't worry about it right now."

"You need sleep, Daddy." Darla herself was getting pretty tired. She had been home for a while, but she hadn't been able to sleep in her own bed for the past two nights. She was really longing for the comfort and familiarity of her own room, and Prowly. She didn't like staying at the hospital with her father without having Prowly with her. It felt like a piece of her was just missing. "Um…but can we still talk tomorrow?"

Theodore yawned and glanced out the window. It was starting to grow dark; he hadn't realized how long he had been listening to Darla talk. "Of course, dear." He got back up and took Darla by the hand. "C'mon, let's get you on up to bed, alright?"

It was the first time in a long time that Darla could remember Theodore actually tucking her into bed. Well, it was the first time that it hadn't ended in them fighting over something stupid. Buttons jumped up on the bed and eyed Theodore suspiciously before curling up at the foot of the bed.

"We have got to get you a normal pet," he muttered to himself and grabbed Prowly off the nightstand. He dusted the stuffed animal off and looked at it for a moment. "It looks like this thing is getting a bit ratty, and his wing is falling off. We should probably get you a new one. I'm sure I could find one somewhere."

Darla sat up and snatched Prowly out of her father's grip. She held him protectively to her chest. It was true that Prowly was getting old and was starting to fall apart; Cassia hadn't exactly done him any good. Still, Darla couldn't bear the thought of having him replaced by anything, even something shiny and new. "Momma got me Prowly. A new one, even if it looked like Prowly, wouldn't be Prowly. It would just be…it would just be a toy. Does that make sense?"

"Not really," Theodore told her bluntly. "But, you've never been one to make much sense about much of anything, so I suppose that in your mind it makes sense. Just like how, for some reason, Buttons makes sense, and wearing jumpers with the letter F on them makes sense, and Lysander makes sense." He smiled slightly and pulled his hair back.

It didn't matter much to her if it made sense to her father. All that made mattered was that he was there and so was she. Darla relaxed slightly.

"Goodnight, Spite."

Darla looked up and hugged Prowly close to her. "Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"What's a Blood Mummy?"

Theodore paused and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, I don't think, legally, I'm really allowed to talk about them. Ask you uncle sometime."

Great, the creatures of her nightmares were still identified. She decided not to mention that she was afraid one was still lurking around the house. "Goodnight, daddy," she finally said.

Theodore lightly kissed the top of Darla's head and managed to stand up. "Goodnight, Spite."

"I love you."

Theodore paused for a moment before he turned off the lights. "I know," he said simply before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Darla slept better than she had in years. She could hear Buttons making a noise that could be described as purring by someone who had never heard purring and had only once had it briefly described to them by someone who had once heard a dog growl. Prowly, as always, was tucked under her arm and her Hedge-Pixie rested in her other arm. When she did wake up she felt incredibly well rested and just happy in general. She jumped up and skipped down the hall, holding her Hedge-pixie tight to her chest. She hurried to her father's bedroom to see if he was awake yet. When she opened the door she saw his bed empty and perfectly made. Well, she thought, there was only one other place he could be.

Her happiness seemed to evaporate as she walked back down the hallway and opened the door to Theodore's study. "Daddy," she asked in a small voice.

Theodore sat hunched over his desk scribbling like mad on a piece of parchment. "Good morning," he muttered without once looking up.

Feeling a bit braver, Darla stepped into the study and slouched down into the seat in front of her father's desk. "Have you been working all night," she asked and looked over at the crumbled up pieces of parchment on the floor.

"Of course not," he said though the empty coffee cups and bags under his eyes told a different story.

Darla felt absolutely defeated. She dug her nails into the Hedge-Pixie and absently chewed on his ear. "I thought you weren't going to work on that anymore," she muttered and looked to the floor.

Theodore stopped writing and looked up. He sighed and brushed back his hair. "Well, I'm not really working on it…I'm just seeing what went wrong." Theodore pushed his glasses up and looked down at his paperwork. "I have no idea how to be a father to you," he admitted.

"That's okay," Darla told him. He looked so lost and Darla wondered if the reason he worked so much was because that was all he knew. He had never really had to be a father before Daphne died, and Darla wondered if that was part of the reason he was so bad at it. "I don't really know how to be a good daughter. So, I guess we'll both have to learn how to do it."

For a moment, Theodore just stared at Darla and tried to figure out what to say. "My mother, Atropos," he finally said and opened his desk drawer. "The woman in the box was my mother, and yes, she was important." He pulled the small box out of his desk drawer and stared at it for a moment as though he didn't quite want to open it. He finally did open it and pulled out the picture of him and his mother. "She passed away when I was twelve."

Darla took the picture from her father and looked it over. They both looked so happy, even though Theodore was trying hard not to smile. Atropos was a beautiful woman, that was all Darla could really see. She was simply amazingly beautiful. "Did she die like momma," Darla asked without taking her eyes off the photograph.

Theodore shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, no, not exactly." He looked down and toyed with his hands. This was much harder than he had expected it to be. He rubbed his head and resumed shuffling through the box. "She, uh, she was killed," he explained and his voice cracked. Deciding that this was enough talk of his mother, Theodore pulled out another photograph. "Oh, look, here's one of your mother playing Quidditch."

Quidditch didn't interest Darla in the slightest, even if it was her mother playing. "Who killed her," Darla asked bluntly.

"Merlin, Darla," Theodore said exasperated. "Let's move on, shall we?" He dropped the picture of Daphne back in the box and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Spite, I just…can we move on?"

Darla would have liked to hear more about her Grandmother, but the tone of Theodore's voice caused her to slip the photograph back into the box and nod. She didn't want for him to get angry with her for being curious, but she figured that she would have time later to try and understand exactly what had happened. "Alright, um…what do you want to talk about?"

Well, Theodore couldn't say 'I don't want to talk'. He was forcing himself to not go back to work. "Um…why don't you tell me more about school," he said and closed the box and slid it back into his desk.

"I've done that already," Darla reminded him. She wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to talk about and it was quite awkward for both of them. Maybe forcing themselves to get along wasn't the best idea. "What was school like when you were there?"

Theodore leaned back slightly and smirked. "Oh, well…I don't want you getting any ideas from me, now," he said and folded his hands over his chest. "It wasn't all that exciting, really. Blaise and I once broke into the Ravenclaw Common Room." He chuckled a bit. "I don't know if anything has changed, but then we discovered that you just had to answer a riddle to get in. Anyone with half a brain could get in. Well, Blaise had trouble with it, but I managed to get it alright. I suppose I was the brains of the group. Blaise was really…well, I'm not sure _why_ we kept him around, but he helped. Well, he helped when he wasn't making sarcastic comments."

"What about Momma," Darla asked. Her curiosity was getting the better or her again. "What did she do?"

"Daphne was on a whole different level. She was smart, pretty, and she played on the Quidditch team. She was a beater, and honestly that fact made me a little afraid of her." Theodore touched his hand to his throat and blinked several times.

Darla leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk. This was the most she had ever heard her father say about her mother before and she was anxious to hear more about it all.

As though just realising he was talking, Theodore stopped and glanced out the window. "You should go pack, Spite. It won't be long before you need to go back to school and I would like to finish writing up my report." He managed a smile and spoke up before Darla could come up with a good argument. "Don't worry, I won't lose myself in my work. I just want to finish writing up what happened the other night and then I'll be done."

Darla smiled and decided that it would be best to at least try and believe her father. "Alright, Daddy, I'll go play with Buttons and get some stuff packed."

"Good girl."

It didn't take Darla long to realise that Theodore was easily lost in his work. She watched the hours tick by and not once did Theodore even venture out of his office to go get coffee. It was a whole new kind of loneliness. Sure, Darla was used to being alone, she was used to spending a lot of time alone, but now it felt different. For a few hours she had her father back to the way he was supposed to be, she had had him the way he was before her mother had died. She wanted to call him out on it and tell him what she was feeling, but she was afraid. She just kept telling herself that eventually he would come out and she should just give him another hour or two. He would remember, he had to, he had promised her. She sat in her room and waited up for him until she eventually fell asleep.

The next day, Darla resumed her pacing and stared at the clock. Really, she thought, she should have gone down to the study to try and force him out, but she couldn't. She thought about their last conversation and thought about how he had looked. Just when he started to open up he had shut down almost immediately. It was strange, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. It was nearing midnight when she finally managed to muster up the courage to go into her father's study. The only reason she knew that he would still be alive was because she could occasionally hear him muttering to himself. Her trunk was still unpacked and she hadn't made any effort to fix this. Silently, Darla crept through the hallway and opened the door and peaked inside, trying to figure out exactly what she was supposed to say.

Fortunately, she didn't have to say anything. The moment the door creaked open Theodore looked up. For a moment Theodore looked a little confused, but then his eyes got wide and his face fell. "Oh no," he muttered to himself as he grabbed his cane and limped away from his desk. "Darla, I didn't forget about you," he said a little too quickly. "I just…I just fell asleep."

"For a whole day," she asked and took a step away from him. She wanted to spend time with him and be a family, just like he had promised, but she wasn't sure what to make about this. He had promised that he wasn't going to work and now here he was, half buried in his studies. "You lied to Uncle Draco," she pointed out, her voice blank and unemotional.

Theodore shook his head and leaned forward to rest on his cane. "I didn't lie, I just…I just got a bit distracted writing my dissertation. It won't happen again. We can spend the whole day together tomorrow if you want."

Darla felt very much like smacking him, as though that would knock some sense into him. Luckily, she had a bit more restraint than that. "Daddy, I go back to school tomorrow," she pointed out and sighed. "It's okay, I'm not mad…I'm just…I'm going to go pack, alright?" Honestly, Darla wasn't angry in the slightest. If anything, she was disappointed. It felt like she had been close to everything she wanted, and then someone had ripped it all away. Her stomach felt hollow and her body seemed heavier than usual. She just felt absolutely gutted.

"Let me help you."

"No," Darla said quickly. "I'll do it…you need to work."

"Spite—"

"I got it," Darla snapped and turned around. "Just…stop trying, okay? It's hard for you, I ken. Just…I don't feel like talking."

Even though Darla didn't feel like talking, Theodore certainly did. He followed her out into the hallway. "Darla, don't do this right now, alright Don't get all gurnie on me."

Darla brushed back her hair and did her best to ignore the fact that she was being followed. "I am _not_ gurnie. I'm accepting, that's all. Just don't forget to take me to the train station tomorrow, alright? I'm anxious to get back to school, I'll write you once I'm there." She was anxious to get back to her friends, and to get back to a place where there were no Blood Mummies or Alchemy.

Theodore managed to catch up with her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said.

Darla paused and looked down at the ground. Theodore had sounded so sincere and she didn't want to let go of everything so quickly. "I acted irrational," Darla stated. "You can come help me pack if you want…"

Theodore smiled softly and put his arm around Darla's shoulders. "I would love to."

It was more work than either of them had planned. When Darla had unpacked she had thrown everything onto the floor and everything was spread throughout her room. Not to mention she had to manage to fit all her presents into her trunk. It might have been slower had Theodore not been there, though it also might have been faster. His constant questions ("Do you really need all these books?") slowed the process down a bit. Regardless, it wasn't a terrible process. In fact, Darla found herself smiling a bit as Theodore helped her pack up several jumpers.

"Really, I can fix that one so it has a 'D' on it instead of an 'F'," Theodore pointed out as he half folded half crammed the jumper Freddie had given her into the trunk.

Darla shook her head and used the same folding technique on a skirt. "No, Freddie gave it to me so there must be a reason for it. I don't quite know what the reason is, but I'm sure that it exists."

"What about the bugs?"

"Don't question the bugs, Daddy. Trust me, I've known Lysander for a while and I've learned that questioning him leads to either dead ends…or dead bugs."

Theodore smiled slightly and slid the box of bugs into the side of the trunk. "You're a strange one, Darla."

Darla looked up and raised her eyebrow. For a moment she wondered what he meant by that. Then, catching his smile, Darla disregarded the meaning. "It runs in the family."

"That it does." Theodore paused and closed the trunk, apparently deciding that they were done. "So…one a scale of one to ten how terrible has this break been? I mean, between the drinking and the hospital and Blaise…" Theodore brushed back his hair and fiddled with the lock on the trunk.

To say that Darla was surprised by the question was an understatement. She looked up and then quickly looked to the floor. She didn't quite know what to say. Sure, there had been worse times but there had been better times. There had been times when she hadn't been hit by a cane or had to stay with someone she barely knew. "Well, considering it's my first break from school I guess it was the best and the worst. I really can't rate it, since I have nothing to compare it to."

Theodore nodded and stood back up. It was nearly four in the morning and they had to leave in less than six hours to get to the train station in time. "You should probably get some sleep," he pointed out.

Following Theodore's lead, Darla got up. She wasn't quite ready to go to bed and she wasn't quite ready to let go of her father. After all, it would be another five months before she got to see him. "If we go to sleep now then there's now way either of us will wake up in time to get to school. You want to get some tea and maybe read some books or something?"

"Um, well…" Theodore rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at Darla. He could have just said no, that might have been the simple way out. "You know what? Yeah, alright, we'll, well, we'll pull an all-nighter. Come on, let's go get that tea."

Just like before, Darla and Theodore stood at the train station, but there were a few differences between this time and the last time. This time Theodore didn't look frustrated and Darla wasn't causing a scene. She held tight to Theodore's robes and leaned against him. There weren't nearly as many people here as there had been before. She looked around and spotted a few familiar faces. Scorpius was standing over by Draco, leaning against his father's shoulder. Something about the scene didn't look right, but Darla chalked it up to Scorpius not feeling well. Then she saw Adam playing with a small blonde boy across the platform. Darla blushed and hid her face in Theodore's robes.

"You alright, Spite?"

Darla smiled and tightened her grip. "Yeah, I'm great. That boy," she said and vaguely gestured in Adam's general direction. "He, um, he kissed me before break—"

"He did what?" Theodore stopped and turned around, his eyes wide. "You didn't mention…um, ahem…" He paused and adjusted his glasses. "Erm, I just always thought you would be a bit more of a late bloomer. Um…I don't really know…uh…oh, look, there's your friend James."

Darla rolled her eyes at Theodore's pathetic attempts to change the conversation. It was almost cute. "Yeah, I should go get on the train." Darla let go of Theodore's robes and grabbed her trunk. "So, um, I'll write to you when I get there?"

Theodore smiled weakly and looked down at Darla. "And I'll write back."

"Okay…" Darla paused for a moment before wrapping her arms around Theodore's waist, nearly knocking him off balance again. "I love you Daddy, be careful with your projects."

Again, Theodore looked like he didn't quite know what to do or say. He managed to pry Darla off of him and brushed her hair out of her face. "I will…um…do a little better in Charms, alright?"

Darla wasn't expecting much of a goodbye, and at least this was better than being pushed onto the train. "I will, Daddy. See you over the summer!"

Theodore gave her a small wave and stepped back. "Yeah, have fun, Spite."

Before Darla went to get on the train she spotted someone very familiar. "Professor," she cried and nearly took of running toward him.

Professor Amicussio was walking toward the train and dragged a very large suitcase behind him. "Oh, well hello there, little Phooka."

Darla grinned and hurried over to him. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I need to get back to school, don't I?" He looked down at his suitcase and struggled a bit to get it off the ground. "Ugh, this is heavier than I expected."

Quickly, Darla attempted to help him carry it only to discover that it was far too heavy for her to carry. "Merlin, Professor, what have you got in here?"

Professor Amicussio smiled and sat the bag down. "Oh, you know, the usual things. Books, clothes, a body."

A body? Darla looked up, her eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"Darla, I just said I had a body in my suitcase, what do you think?"

Darla relaxed a little and grabbed her own trunk. "Right, of course. Daddy says I'm very bad at detecting sarcasm."

Professor Amicussio ruffled her hair and picked his suitcase back up. "You sure are. Now, you better get on the train with your friends before it's too late. I need to get my stuff up front."

"Alright, Professor. I'll see you at school!" She called as she went to board the train.

Professor Amicussio offered her a small wave. "Yes, I hope it's a fun second semester for you."

Darla would quickly learn that fun was the last thing that she would be having over the next few months.

/ Yeah, I should change the summary. I, uh, I didn't expect it to go on this long. Everything just kind of, well…it just kind of happened….I don't really know how else to explain it.


	12. Chapter 12

The Gryffindor Common Room was louder than Darla remembered it being. Of course, that could have just been because she had gotten used to the silence. Darla sat on the couch with James watching the fire burn away. Neither of them had really spoken and the train ride over had mostly been spent listening to Freddie talk about how amazing the food at his Grandmother's house had been. Buttons was busy scoping out the common room and checking out the students.

"So, um…how was break," James asked awkwardly as the students in the common room started to thin out and go to bed.

Darla shrugged and clutched her Hedge-Pixie to her chest. "It wasn't bad. Daddy and I had an interesting visit to, um…my Uncle's house," Darla told him deciding that he didn't need to hear about the hospital visit. "And my Daddy got me this locket," she said and proudly pulled her locket out from inside her shirt. "It was my Momma's."

"Oh…good."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes ad Darla closed her eyes. Regardless of what James had said before, things certainly weren't the same between them. James wasn't acting like himself and Darla wasn't quite sure what to do to fix it. "James, you're acting strangely." She sighed and leaned back.

James shrugged. "I don't know, Dar…I was just thinking over Christmas about what it would be like if I lost my mum. I mean, I couldn't even imagine…."

Darla really didn't want to have this conversation with James. She got up off the couch and turned away. "I'm going for a walk, alright? You should go back up to bed, it's getting late."

"Darla—"

"Walking!"

As much as Darla adored James, she wasn't feeling up to telling him about her mother. She really wasn't even in much of a talking mood. Maybe if she could get her head together then she would cool down and everything would go back to normal. Well, she could hope, anyway. Darla walked aimlessly down the corridor, listening to the whispering voices in the paintings that dotted the hallway. None of these conversations were terribly interesting or helpful. Buttons trotted behind her, as though it was his job to keep an eye on her. She was just about to turn back when she spotted someone standing a little ways away looking a bit lost.

"Scorpius," she said and squinted to make sure it was him.

Sure enough, the blonde turned around and looked over Darla, looking like he was trying to decide whether to set her on fire or throw her out the window. "What do you want," he growled and put his hands in his robe pockets.

Darla was a little taken back. Sure, she hadn't expected Scorpius to be kind to her, but she hadn't expected him to be so angry. "I just wanted to say hey," she told him and took a few cautious steps forward. Buttons dashed behind her leg and hissed loudly. "And, um, thanks, I guess for what you said at the Christmas party."

Scorpius sneered and walked over to her, looking at her as though she was a bug. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said in a drawling voice.

"What?" Darla looked up at him, trying not to show any fear at all. "I mean you said—"

"I didn't say anything and I especially didn't say anything that you should thank me for, Darla."

At this, Darla paused and raised an eyebrow. She couldn't remember Scorpius ever calling her 'Darla'. He had always used the nickname 'Darling'. Darla was half sure he didn't even know her name. "What did you call me?"

"Are you deaf? I called you Darla, stupid. It's you name, after all." Scorpius rolled his eyes.

As soon as Scorpius looked back down at her, Darla noticed something peculiar. Scorpius had blue eyes like his father, but now they were brown like his mother's. At first Darla thought it was merely the lighting, but she could shake the feeling that something was wrong. "Well, alright," she said and backed away. "Um, I'll remember that, my name, I mean."

Scorpius turned stared at her and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're acting like a freak today."

"Um, yes…yes I am. Um, I have to…you should…bye!" She really wasn't sure what to say to him. He talked like Scorpius and, for the most part, he acted like Scorpius. Still, as Darla walked back down the halls she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong with him. He had looked sick at the train station and she briefly entertained the idea that he was just sick and that was that. Still, his eyes bothered her. Darla was certain that she had heard something about this in the past. It just stuck out to her and she didn't know why.

Darla hadn't been gone for very long, so it was no surprise to her that James was still up. Instantly, she felt bad for brushing him off like she had. He was sitting up on the couch and looking over the stuffed Hedge-Pixie he had gotten Darla for Christmas. It then occurred to Darla that she hadn't given him a present yet! She had picked up several things before she and her father went to the train station and decided that this would be the perfect time to give James his present. Also, she thought maybe giving James his present would make her forget about how odd Scorpius had been. Maybe he hadn't been acting oddly, maybe she had just imagined it.

"Hey James," She called, causing James to glance up. "Wait right there! I have you something!"

Darla didn't wait for a response. She trotted up to her room and tiptoed around her sleeping roommates. Tomorrow she would have a chance to give everyone else their presents, but she wanted to go ahead and give James's his. She quietly rummaged through her trunk until she found a small brown bag. As quickly and quietly as she could, Darla went back downstairs and handed the bag off to James.

"It's not much and it's no Hedge-Pixie, but, um…Happy Christmas?"

James smiled and looked up at her. "You didn't have to get me anything. Okay, I'm lying, you did, but I have to act humble and everything to keep up my image." James opened the back and pulled out the small leather string.

Darla sat down on the couch beside him and looked at her hands. "It's a healing charm based on Alchemical symbols," she explained as she watched James examine the small stone on the end of the string. Her father had explained all the symbols on the stones in the small corner shop. "It's supposed to keep people safe. The stone is actually a bezoar. Then the writing carved in it is 'Abracadabra', that's why the bezoar is in a triangle. It um…my dad is really into Alchemy. The carved words are filled with iron for extra protection."

James examined the charm, looking a little sceptical, "Isn't Alchemy supposed to be, like, really old and really bad."

"It's not bad," Darla insisted. "It's good, what could be bad about healing and protection? I mean, we already know about bezoars from Potions class. How could Alchemy be bad when obviously other magic is based on it?"

James looked at her, still not looking like he was totally convinced. Then, maybe because he saw her downtrodden look, James sighed and slid the necklace over his head. "I like it then. If you say its good then how could it be bad? I'll trust you, little bit."

Darla smiled and relaxed a bit. "My Daddy taught me a bit about it," she admitted. "It's kind of scary, Alchemy is, but it can be helpful I think."

"Its fine, it's fine. Um, thanks for the necklace," he said a bit awkwardly. "Alright, enough of the Alchemy thing. It's cool and I kind of get it, I guess. It's not bad it's just different." James paused and gave Darla a familiar smile. "Kind of like you, Hedge-Pixie."

Darla smiled back at him. She got the feeling that James didn't like his gift very much, but she also decided that it wasn't really the gift that matter. It was the thought that went into it. Even Lysander's bugs had some thought put into them, even if that thought was a bit insane. Darla went to bed that night hoping that everyone else could appreciate the presents that she got them. Mostly, wondered if Adam would like his book.

Classes resumed the next day and everything seemed perfectly normal. Freddie found it oddly hilarious that Darla adored her new jumper and he seemed trilled with the new book Darla had gotten him (10,000 and More Great Pranks By Great Wizards). Darla didn't get much of a chance to see her other friends as the day progressed. She ended up having to finish her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework from break during lunch and Charms class was spent taking copious notes on vanishing charms.

Either Darla had forgotten how difficult classes were, or they had somehow become harder over since she left. By the time she got to Professor Amicussio's class Darla was positively exhausted. She laid her head down on her desk and groaned loudly. All she wanted to do was get back to the dormitory and go to sleep. Of course, that wasn't going to happen. There was so much homework to do that Darla didn't think she would ever sleep again.

"I would like you to sit up in my class, Miss Nott," Professor Amicussio said loudly as he slammed his briefcase on his desk.

Darla rubbed her eyes and sat back up. Class didn't start for another ten minutes, Darla didn't see why she could have some time to rest before then. "Hello to you to," Darla mumbled and glared down at the table.

Professor Amicussio smiled slightly. "The first day back is always difficult, you'll get back in the swing of things," he told her as a few more students filtered into the classroom, all of them looking very tired.

For some reason, Darla seriously doubted that. She didn't feel like she was ever going to get used to getting up early again. Before she had the chance to tell Professor Amicussio this, they were interrupted. They weren't interrupted by the class, however, instead Professor McGonagall hurried into the classroom. Darla and Amicussio looked up and Darla felt sick for no reason she could logically explain. Professor McGonagall was very pale and her hands were shaking a bit. Darla tried to work out what might be wrong and she decided that, maybe, Professor McGonagall was feeling a bit under the weather. She certainly looked ill.

"Cassius," Professor McGonagall said in a hushed voice. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I need borrow Miss Nott. There's been an accident."

Professor Amicussio glanced over at Darla for just a moment before quickly looking back to Professor McGonagall. "What kind of accident," he asked and followed her lead and lowered his voice.

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and shook her head. "There'll be a meeting later tonight. I just believe that immediate family members should be informed first."

Darla's stomach dropped and her ears started to ring. 'Immediate family members'? Oh no, she thought, her father hadn't gone back to Draco at all, had he? He had tried to bring her mother bck again, hadn't he? Darla could only imagine the worst. Everything that she had imagined happening during Christmas had happened. Darla wondered how badly injured her father was, or was he worse than injured.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Blinking, Darla stared forward and shook her head. "I don't know, Lily," she said her voice cracking. She hadn't had the chance, or really the ability, to tell any of her friends what had happened over holiday break. She didn't even know how to tell Lily what was wrong.

"Miss Nott," Professor McGonagall said in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "Would you follow me, please?"

Taking a deep breath, Darla pushed her chair back and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'll talk to you later, Lily," she said mechanically as she followed Professor McGonagall.

Apparently sensing the seriousness of the situation, Lily simply nodded. "I'll make you a copy of my notes," she offered.

Darla didn't really know what to say, so she just followed Professor McGonagall out of the classroom. She didn't care that much about what she missed in class, all she cared about was knowing whether or not her father was alright. He had to be alive, right? She couldn't lose him this soon! Darla didn't even know if she should cry or not. In a daze, she followed the headmistress up the spiral staircase to her office.

"Please have a seat," Professor McGonagall said and pursed her lips and sat down behind the large desk.

Darla sat down and stared blankly at the portraits on the wall. All of them looked as grim as she felt. She felt awkward looking at the people, so she diverted her eyes to the ground.

Professor McGonagall sighed and folded her hands on her desk. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news," she told Darla. If this was supposed to make Darla more nervous hen it certainly worked. "Your older cousin, Scorpius, fell ill this morning, we're still trying to figure out what happened exactly. I regret to be the one to inform you that…" Professor McGonagall paused and tightly closed her eyes. "Scorpius passed on earlier today."

As horrible as it was, Darla felt and instant sense of relief. She knew that she was supposed to be upset, but she was thankful that it wasn't her father who had passed on. "Scorpius," she repeated and shook her head. "No, Professor, that's just not possible. I just saw him last night and he was perfectly…well, he was just Scorpius." It just didn't make sense for Scorpius, of all people, to have died. He had looked a bit sick, but nothing bad enough for him to…he couldn't be dead.

"I'm sorry, Miss Nott….Your uncle will be here soon if you want to talk to him when he arrives." Professor McGonagall sighed and looked over at Darla. "I know that it's hard for you to head, but if there's anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask."

Now that the truth had settled in a bit, Darla felt nauseas again. Scorpius was her only cousin. Sure, they hadn't exactly gotten along, but she didn't want him dead. Something was wrong with him and Darla had known it. Why hadn't she said anything? Maybe if she had said something then Scorpius would still be alive and she wouldn't be feeling like this. His eyes stood out to her. Had they really been brown when she had seen him or had she just been imagining things? Why did it seem to remind her of something?

"Thank you, Professor," she said softly. "Can I…may I just go to the common room? I think I need to lie down and just try to…I don't know. Can you just tell me when my Uncle arrives?" Darla stood her head and stood up, her legs were shaking so badly that she had to grip the chair for support.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Of course. Again, I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Nott."

Darla didn't have anything else to say. A part of her was afraid that if she tried to speak she would just throw up. She felt terrible for being relieved and she felt sick about losing Scorpius. There was no way that she could go back and fix what she had done. She should have told someone, even if it was just James, about how Scorpius had acted and how he had looked. Darla walked back to the common room and mumbled the password to the Fat Lady. She laid herself down on the couch and covered her face with the pillow and screamed. This was the only way she could think of release everything she was feeling. She pressed the pillow against her mouth and screamed until her throat threatened to rupture. It wasn't until she couldn't scream anymore that she finally just broke. She and Scorpius hadn't been close, and she felt terrible over that. He had acted kindly toward her over the Holiday, he had acted like he cared. Then, she had just brushed him off and gone with Blaise and Mars. Darla didn't know what to think of everything. She wondered if they had gotten along when they were younger. Yes, she remembered, there had been some time when they had been sort of friends. It was when her mother was sick and she was staying with her Uncle a lot. They had played ley di oh, and they hadn't argued so much. Things hadn't changed until her mother had died. Darla tried with all her might to remember, but she could. She couldn't even think straight. All she knew was that Scorpius was dead and there was nothing that she could do about it. By the time someone else came into the common room, Darla was more exhausted than ever. Her head hurt from crying and her muscles rebelled as she got up off the couch. Most of the students were still in class, which Darla thought was a blessing, and she just had to deal with Professor Longbottom.

Neither of them spoke much as they walked down the corridor. Professor Longbottom seemed to understand that nothing he said in that moment would make Darla feel any better. The only thing that could possibly make it any better would be time. Time was the ultimate healer of all things. For the second time that day, Darla was escorted up to the Headmistress's office. Her uncle was sitting in one chair and her aunt in the other, Professor McGonagall had the painful look of pity on her face.

Astoria looked up, looking almost exactly like Daphne had before she died. Even though she wasn't Daphne, Darla ran to her like she was. She collapsed in her Aunt's arms. Astoria was still crying, but Darla felt like she couldn't cry anymore. Her chest hurt and her head was throbbing. Darla clung to her aunt, and her aunt clung back to her. Both of them needing something that no one could ever give them.

Draco just sat in his chair, tears falling silently down his cheeks. He just kept repeating "I'm a healer, I should have done something. I could have done something, anything. I'm a healer, this is my job." Darla wanted to say something to him, to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't. He made a good point. He was a healer. Why couldn't he save his own son? Of course, she didn't dare voice this. In fact, she didn't let any of her thoughts escape her brain. She was still trying to absorb the fact that her only cousin had died.

Darla had no idea how long they all just sat there in almost total silence. They should have said something comforting, but none of them could find the words. It had grown dark when Draco went with the headmistress to go gather up Scorpius's things and left Darla alone with her aunt.

The two sat in the chair holding onto each other. It seemed like forever ago that Darla was avoiding her aunt and older cousin at the Christmas party. Everything seemed like it had happened so long ago. "Have you heard anything about my daddy," Darla finally asked in a small voice.

Astoria sniffled and nodded slightly. "Yes…Draco has been taking very good care of him," she said her voice catching on her sobs. "I should go help Draco…Darling, will you be alright?"

Darla flinched slightly at the familiar nickname. She could only assume that Astoria had picked it up from Scorpius, though she didn't say it with any of the malice her son had. Why hadn't he called her that the other night? Was he just feverish and didn't care enough? "I'll be fine," Darla said and tried to put it out of her mind. "I-I think that I should go back to my common room…I have homework."

"Oh, Darling," Astoria said and kissed Darla's forehead. "I don't think that your teachers will care much if your homework is a little late."

"I-I know…I just don't want to think about it anymore." Darla doubted that anything in History of Magic would help her to forget about Scorpius.

Darla waited until her aunt had left before she got up out of the chair. Her whole body was still shaking, her stomach was sour, and her vision was slightly blurry. It reminded her quite a bit of being drunk. She stumbled down the spiral staircase, having to keep a tight hold on the railing to keep from tumbling all the way to the bottom.

"Is it true," someone asked the moment Darla stepped into the corridor.

Looking up, Darla saw the last person she expected to see. Albus sat on the floor, clutching his knees tight to his chest. His face was pasty and, like Darla, he was obviously shaking. Darla didn't quite know what to say. Albus had scared her a bit when she knew him, but now he just looked like a scared little boy.

"I was waiting for Professor McGonagall," he explained quickly. "I heard that Scorpius…and I saw his dad…is he…?"

Slowly, Darla nodded. She expected, for some reason, for Albus to get angry and start throwing punches or hexing whatever moved, she knew that people could get very angry for no reason when someone close to them died. She did not, however, expect Albus to bury his head in his knees and burst into tears. His whole body shook violently as the sadness took him over. For a moment, Darla just stood there and tried to figure out what to do.

"He was your best friend, wasn't he," Darla asked and slid down against the wall beside Albus. She may not like Albus much at all, but she couldn't leave him to suffer alone.

Albus didn't looked up, but he managed to nod slightly. "There was no reason for him to die," Albus choked out.

Awkwardly, Darla put her hand on Albus's back. She was a bit surprised when he didn't smack her hand away. Darla cleared her throat and tried to figure out what would be comforting to say. "It sucks," she finally said. "It sucks when people die, but it happens. It happens all the time. Good people die all the time for no reason. There's never a reason, they just die and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it," Darla told him in her usual monotone voice. "People are always going to die…and it is sad, but there's no point in being sad and questioning it. They're not going to know that you're sad, they don't care anymore."

At this, Albus did look up and he did smack Darla's hand away. His face was red and his cheeks were tear streaked. "What is wrong with you," he hissed and wiped his face.

Darla pulled her hand close to her chest and thought about what she had said. It didn't seem, to her, like she had said anything wrong. She had just told him what her father had told her when she was younger. "I told you the truth," she said, baffled.

"Well don't! This is why people hate you! Someone dies and you don't even look like you care!"

"I do care," Darla muttered.

Albus stood up and shook his head. "No, you don't, you didn't even like him! I bet you're happy he's dead! You're not crying and you don't look like you're sad at all. Are you happy now, Nott? Did you get what you wanted?"

"I-I don't want anyone to die…" Darla's eyes widened and she rubbed her thumbs against her other fingers, not quite sure what she should do with her hands. "Scorp and I might not have always gotten along, but that doesn't mean I don't care."

Albus then did something that Darla didn't expect, but she thought she probably should have. His hand hit the side of her face so hard it made her ears ring worse than they already were and made tears well up in her eyes. Instantly, Darla's hand went to her cheek and she was vaguely reminded of when Scorpius had slapped her. Her first thought was 'why do people think that's a good way to solve things?' That thought was quickly followed by 'did I deserve this? Albus must be terribly upset'.

"Don't," Albus hisses as he backed up. "Don't call him 'Scorp' like he was your friend. He didn't like you, he didn't want you anywhere near him. You're lucky I didn't break your ribs this time."

Darla took a deep breath and managed to keep herself from crying. "I'm sorry, Albus…"

Albus shook his head and turned away from her. "Just leave me alone, Nott. You're the last person I need to have comfort me right now."

"Albus," Darla said quickly and got to her feet. She knew that she should probably just back off, but she couldn't.

Albus paused and looked at the ground. "Nott," he growled under his breath. Is hands were shaking at his side. "When I say 'jump' you don't say 'no', you say 'how high'. When I say 'listen to me' you don't say anything, you listen. If I tell you to do something then you'll do something," he told her, repeating exactly what Scorpius had told her months before. "I'm telling you, right now, leave me alone. Don't talk to me. I don't care that he was your cousin, I don't want to talk to you."

Darla took a step back as the words set in. She knew, from experience, that Albus could be just as cold as Scorpius, but she didn't want him to walk away. "I don't care what you think, I loved my cousin and I noticed something that you didn't notice! I'm going to figure out what was wrong with him just to prove to you that I cared!"

"Shut up," Albus said before Darla could get another word in. "Nothing you do or say will change what I think. Now, just get back to my brother so you guys can plan your next stupid prank."

With that, Albus walked down the corridor to the dungeons, leaving Darla alone. Darla counted her blessings that the only abuse she suffered at Albus's hands was the slap. She leaned against the wall, not quite ready to face the rest of Gryffindor house. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to them and she didn't know how they were reacting. It wasn't like anyone there was really close to Scorpius and she didn't want to see James yet. All she wanted was to be alone and think for a little while. Of course, that wasn't an option.

Just as Darla was starting to rethink what had happened the previous night, she was interrupted one last time. Thankfully, Albus hadn't come back to yell at her again, instead it was Professor Bane.

Bane looked like he had little to know idea where he was. Of course, he usually looked like that. He had been walking along and cleaning his glasses off on his robes when he very nearly tripped over Darla. Bane's eyes got wide and he quickly put his glasses back on.

"Oh, sorry," he said awkwardly. "Um…what are you doing in the floor?"

Darla shrugged, ignoring the slight pain where Bane had walked into her shin. "Sitting," she answered automatically. "I don't really want to go back to the common room…too many people."

"I see…oh, right, you're that girl who was once a Slytherin and now you're not…I'm still trying to figure that one out." Bane toyed with his hands for a moment and then took his glasses off to re-clean them. "Um…I suppose you've heard by now, since most of the school has heard…were you and the Malfoy boy close?"

"He was my cousin," Darla told him. "But we weren't exactly the best of friends… "

"I see…"

Darla looked up and pursed her lips. Maybe Professor Bane would be able to help her. After all, he was a Professor; he would know more about strange diseases than she would. "Professor Bane, I noticed something about Scorpius before he, well…you know…" Maybe she was just being crazy, maybe she shouldn't mention anything to him. "His eyes were different…and he called me by the wrong name. Is there a disease that would cause that?"

Professor Bane paused and put his glasses back on. "Different eyes," he said and knitted his eyebrows together. "I, um…I have no idea. Would you excuse, Miss…erm…Miss…you… I just remembered I, um…I left a potion brewing."

"Oh, you should attend to that," Darla called after him. "It must be a pretty important potion…and Professor Bane must be a very forgetful man." Getting to her feet again, Darla managed to find the strength to walk again. She still wasn't sure what to day when she got back into the common room. It was getting quite late and she knew that she needed to get back soon, but she still didn't want to. She just wanted to wander for a while and try to think about what had happened.

She wandered aimlessly around the castle, not afraid of losing points or earning a detention. At this point, she didn't care about much of anything except finding out what had happened to Scorpius. Her cheek was still burning and her head was throbbing, but she felt much better than she had before. Actually, she was starting to feel numb to everything. It wasn't long before Darla realized that she didn't know where she was going. She was about to stop and try and figure it out when she heard people talking down the corridor. Now, Darla didn't mean to be nosey, but she was quite a bit curious.

"Cass, you can't keep doing this," she heard someone say harshly. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it right off. "I mean, Malfoy…bad idea, and you didn't even tell me!"

There was a short laugh and Darla leaned against the wall outside the door. "Please, Bane, I can do whatever I like. It's not as though anyone suspects anything at all. Nikias, you and I are in the clear." The voice Darla recognized instantly. Professor Amicussio? Nikias…was that Nikias Bane? What were they talking about?

"I won't be a part of this anymore, Cass. I'm not going to help you anymore. I don't want to do this, I never wanted to."

Professor Amicussio laughed again, a short and high pitch laugh. "Please, Nikias, it's not as though you have much of a choice. You can help me…." There was a very loud crash and a muffled scream. "Or I'll kill you, is that understood?"

"Please, Cass…I don't want to."

There was another scream and Darla turned on her heel and took off down the corridor. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. Something was happening and even though she didn't know what it was, Darla knew it was terrible. Professor Bane had been screaming, and Darla knew that he was usually quite soft spoken unless a potion was exploding. She wondered what Professor Amicussio was doing that would get him into trouble. Darla ran back to Gryffindor house and gave the password in a rushed voice to the Fat Lady before running into the common room. She was out of breath and scared to death, but she needed to know what was going on.

"Darla," Lily said and looked up from the couch. "Where have you been?"

Darla shook her head and managed to catch her breath. "Where's James at?"

"He went to go check on Albus…we heard about what happened. Um, I'm sorry…he was your cousin right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter at this moment." Things were starting to click in her head and she was certain she knew what was going on. "Scorpius didn't die like people think he did, Lily. Don't look at me like I'm crazy."

Lily gave Darla a sad smile and pulled her over to the couch. "I don't think you're crazy. I just think that you're tired. You've had a very long day, I think you just need to lie down for a bit."

"I'm not mad," Darla insisted and tried to get up off the couch, but Lily kept a tight hold to her wrist. "I need to go to the headmistress, Lily. I just need you to believe me. Look, I heard Professor Amicussio talking, he was talking about—"

"Darla," Lily said sternly. "You need to calm down. I know that things are hard right now, but it'll be okay. Just take a few deep breaths and calm down,"

Calming down was much easier said than done. Darla knew that something was wrong and she had an idea what it was. She just needed someone to believe her. "Lily, please."

Lily shook her head and looked around. "Darla, everyone is upset right now. I promise, James will be back soon. Just wait until he gets back."

Maybe she did just need to calm down. That would help her figure out exactly what it was she needed to say, anyway. Finally, Darla nodded and leaned back against the pillows on the couch. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. She listened to the clock ticking for several minutes. Everything was quieter than usual and it reminded her a bit of when she was at home. Finally, just before midnight, the portrait hole opened again and James appeared. His hair was flat against his head for once and hung in front of his face.

"James," Darla exclaimed and sat up straight. "James, I need to talk to you! Scorpius—"

"I already know," James said, brushing her off. "I've just spent the last coupe of hours with Albus, I know what's going on."

Darla looked relieved. Finally, someone knew what was happening. "Great, then we need a plan. First we should—"

James shook his head. "Not now, Darla. I'm not in the mood to plan anything right now." He paused and looked over at her. "You look…excited?"

"I am," Darla said and leaned over the back of the couch. "Because I heard—"

"Stop," James snapped and held up his hand. "Are you serious? I thought Albus was just exaggerating, but you really don't care, do you?"

"James," Lily jumped in. "Stop it. Darla is obviously upset."

Darla was starting to get frustrated. No one was listening to her and she had an idea! She kind of knew what was going on! "I'm not upset," she said quickly. "It's just that no one is understanding what I'm saying!"

That didn't make anyone listen. James just looked down at her like she had suddenly grown tentacles. "I'm going to bed. Darla, for the love of God, be normal in the morning. I seriously can't deal with Albus being upset and you being insane right now." He shook his head and headed up to the boy's dormitory. "I can't believe she doesn't care…its like when she told me about her mother," James muttered to himself.

James's words hurt Darla worse that Albus's slap. Did he really think that she didn't care about her mother? Maybe she didn't always know how to show it, but she did have some feelings. It felts like someone had punched her very hard in the gut and then abandoned her.

Lily put her hand on Darla's shoulder. "James didn't mean that," she said quickly. "He-he told me about what happened in Diagon Alley. I-I'm sure you loved your mother very much."

Darla blinked several times and pushed Lily's hand off her shoulder. "I'm going to bed," Darla said and quickly got off the couch.

"Darla, don't be like this."

Lily's words fell on deaf ears. If no one was going to listen to her then Darla was in no mood to listen to anyone else. She stormed up to her room and flopped down on her bed. Maggie was already asleep and Darla didn't blame her. She wished that she could be asleep too. Darla kicked her hedge-pixie off the bed and clutched Prowly securely in her arms. Usually the stuffed owl gave her some sense of comfort, but now it just felt like a limp doll in her arms. Darla looked around before pulling out her wand and whispering 'lumos'. She hid under her blanket and pulled her locked out from inside her shirt.

"Momma," she whispered and looked that the small photograph of her smiling mother. "Momma, I don't know what to do." Tears were starting to fall down her face again. "If I'm right then Scorpius might not be dead…but if I'm wrong…if I'm wrong then maybe James and Albus were right. I just don't know who would believe me anymore." It was then that something occurred to her and a small smile returned to Darla's face. "I got it, Momma! I know exactly who I'll talk to. Oh, this is brilliant, Momma!"

There was a meeting that morning for all the students to explain what had happened. Darla hadn't attended, she didn't see any reason to. It was stupid and pointless.

Instead she waited outside the Great Hall until the students were released. She avoided the Gryffindors and waited until the Ravenclaws filed out.

"Lysander," she called and scurried through the crowd until she got to the twins.

Lorcan looked up and gave her a very sad smile. "Hello, Darla," he said in a soft voice, "It's sad what happened."

Lysander nodded in agreement. "Very sad what happened to that boy. I hope he doesn't become a bug."

Darla didn't question this. Instead she grabbed Lysander's hand and pulled him behind her. "Lorcan, I need to borrow your brother for a little while. I promise I'll bring him back!"

"Darla, I really don't think now is a great—"

Lysander squealed and trotted behind her. "Oh, good, we're having a hang out! Lorcan, I'll return shortly…I assume! I don't know how long hang outs usually last!"

Darla pulled Lysander behind her and filled him in on the conversation she had overheard on their way to the library. Lysander didn't interrupt once and he didn't call her crazy. When she had finished explaining, Lysander paused and nodded.

"He could still be alive," Lysander said sounding amazed.

Darla could have hugged him! "That's what I've been trying to tell everyone, but they all think I'm crazy."

"Welcome to my world," Lysander told her. "Now, we have to get to the library. What would cause someone to forget things and then, for all intents and purposes, die?"

The two of them settled themselves into a corner of the library, but they had no idea where to start. The flipped through several Defense Against the Dark Arts books from years past, but nothing stuck out about eyes or forgetfulness. Still, Darla was certain that she had heard about this somewhere before! The sun began to sink behind the clouds and they were still no closer to finding the answer than they were when they began. It had been a long last two days, but Darla wasn't ready to give up. Even when her stomach growled she wasn't ready to leave.

"You go on to dinner," she said to Lysander. "I'll be fine. I doubt we're going to find anything right now. I'll keep looking."

"You sure?"

Darla nodded and grabbed another book off the table. "Yeah…bring me a cookie."

"I'll bring you two," Lysander promised before he closed his book. "And don't worry, everyone will know that we're right. We're not crazy, are we, Darla?"

Darla shook her head. "I don't know, Lysander," she said and sighed.

"You're not crazy, I promise." Lysander gave her a small smile before trotting off to go to dinner.

After Lysander left, Darla began to despair a little more. How was she supposed to figure out what had happened when she didn't even know what she was looking for? She flipped open her book and instantly perked up. Wait, she was starting to remember things.

_Children have been taken for centuries by Faeries to live in the world of the Fae. The children are kept prisoner there until such a time as they die. The Fae replace the children they take with creatures known as changelings. The changelings closely resemble the children they're meant to replace, however a person can notice subtle differences in size, shape, eye colour, speech patterns, abilities, fears, and social norms. The changelings often die within twenty-four to ninety-six hours. Changelings are often made out of bundles of sticks and, after several weeks, the body of the child will turn back into sticks. _

This was it! This was what she remembered. Darla narrowed her eyes and flipped through the book until she came across a section about Humanoid Fae.

_A Humanoid Fae is a faerie that looks like a human under sunlight, candle light, and firelight. There are several signs that point to a person being a Humanoid Fae. They change in the moonlight, they have an inability to lie, they're taller and thinner than most humans, they don't quite understand social norms-_

Darla didn't feel as though she needed to continue reading. This was all she needed to know. She remembered the night in detention when Professor Amicussio had appeared to be bluish and seemed taller than usual and she remembered what he had said he had in his luggage at the train station. Now, she thought, maybe he was kidding about having a body in his bag, but she remembered how different Scorpius had looked even then. Was that when he had taken Scorpius?

Darla couldn't wait for Lysander to come back. She abandoned her books and hurried out of the library. If she was going to prove to everyone that she cared about Scorpius then she had to go by herself. Walking quickly, Darla went down the corridors and up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She had never seen Professor Amicussio at dinner before, so she hoped he was in. Darla stopped in front of the door and knocked loudly. A second later it opened.

"Oh, Miss Nott," Professor Amicussio said and tilted his head to the side. "What are you doing here? Did you want the work you missed in class because, really, you know it doesn't matter right now, right? I know you're having a hard time right now, so I'll let you slide on this on assignment."

Darla shook her head. "No, Professor, I just had something to ask you."

Professor Amicussio stood back and let Darla come into his classroom. "Well, little one, what's going on?"

Darla sat down on one of the tables and looked directly into Professor Amicussio's eyes. "Do you know what happened to Scorpius Malfoy," she asked clearly.

"I heard he died," Professor Amicussio said. He didn't break eye contact either. "Very sad, that. I know he was your cousin."

Darla ignored how 'very sad' he was. "Is that what happened, Professor? Did he really die?"

Professor Amicussio tilted his head to the side and looked at Darla as though she were a mildly interesting story book. "Are you getting at something, Miss Nott," he asked in a bit of a harsher voice than he usually used.

Taking in a deep breath, Darla tried to be brave. She touched her hand to her locket and forced herself to continue. "I am getting at something, Professor. See, I don't think he died, I believe he was stolen by the Fae." Darla tried to keep her face emotionless, but it was hard when she was staring into Professor Amicussio's cold eyes. "I want you to look at me right now and tell me that he wasn't stolen by the Fae and Scorpius, the real Scorpius, isn't dead."

For a moment, Professor Amicussio just stood there and stared at Darla. Then, he sighed and walked over to his desk. "Oh, Miss Nott, you are a bright girl, aren't you? Now, I really wanted to wait until you were older to do this, but I suppose that we'll have to speed things up a bit, won't we? You'll be an excellent addition to our collection. Now, get in the sack, pet," he said and pulled out a long black bag.

Darla jumped off the desk. "I knew it," she shouted.

"Yes, yes, congratulations, you've figured me out. Too bad no one will ever know." Professor Amicussio grinned and tilted his head to the side. "I'm sure your family will be very sad at the funeral."

It took Darla a second to realize what Professor Amicussio was getting at. By the time she understood, it was too late. Professor Amicussio had a tight hold on her. "Say goodbye, pet," he said and then everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13

**James**

James Potter woke up Thursday morning with only one thing on his mind. Quidditch. It wasn't that there was a game or even practise, Quidditch was usually the only thing on his mind. Therefore, it was natural for that to be the first thing on his mind. He rolled over and looked over at Freddie in the bed next to his. Freddie was awake, and James assumed he was also thinking about Quidditch. After all, what else was there to think about?

"Hoy, Freddie," he called, his voice muddled by sleep. "Wanna go play some Quidditch?"

Freddie rolled over and covered his head with the blanket. "James, it's six in the morning, go back to sleep!"

"Freddie—"

"I will throw a shoe at you!"

James smiled to himself and rolled back over in his bed. It would take a while for Freddie to wake up completely. While James was a morning person, Freddie was not. In fact, James felt like he was the only person who liked mornings. Restless, James rolled out of bed and decided that he could go downstairs and finish his Astronomy Chart. He got dressed in the dark, managing to get his shoes on the wrong feet and his shirt on backwards. Finally, he managed to get his clothes on properly and ambled downstairs. The events of the past twenty-four hours came back to him as he walked down the staircase. He would need to check on Albus later and write a letter to his parents. The night before Albus had been an absolute wreck and it had taken James the better part of two hours to get him calm enough to even speak. He wondered if it was any better today.

James had never seen his brother in such a state. Albus had always been quiet and reserved, he was he opposite of James. Last night he had seen a totally different side. He had seen someone completely broken. How was he supposed to know how to fix that? It was instinct, he supposed. Simple things. Holding onto him, telling him it would be alright, and just being there. Eventually, he hoped, Albus would go back to normal. Time could heal most anything, right?

His thoughts about Albus were broken when he walked down and found Darla sitting on the couch, flipping through a fairytale book. Strange, she wasn't normally awake until breakfast was almost over. James sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Maybe he had been too hard on her the other night. After all, she had just lost her cousin. Maybe she just grieved differently than most people. James had never known Darla to be like most people. He looked around to see if that terrible thing she called a cat was nearby. Thankfully, the beast was nowhere to be found.

"Morning," James called and offered her a small smile. "Are you doing alright, Dar?"

Darla looked up, her grey eyes void of all expression, as per usual. "Oh, Good morning," he said curtly before going back to her book.

'Great,' James thought, 'she's mad at me now'. "Look," James said as he slid down into one of the armchairs. "I'm sorry that I was so hard on you the other night. I know that you're suffering too and I should have probably thought about that. It's just…Albus was so worked up and he was angry, I guess I was just a little on edge."

"I guess you were," Darla said sounding annoyed that someone was interrupting her reading.

James shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Darla wasn't usually this cold to him, he must have really offended her. "And I shouldn't have talked about your mother, that was crossing a line. Can we just be friends again?"

With that, Darla closed her book and looked up at him. "We were never not friends, James. It's impossible for us not to be, isn't it? I mean, without you I wouldn't be in Gryffindor right now." Darla closed her eyes and sighed. "Look, I'm just…I'm not in a good place. I just lost my cousin and I can't…I can't do this right now." Tears were starting to well up in her eyes and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh, Hedge-Pixie," James said and swooped down to put his arms around Darla. He couldn't imagine what it was like to first lose your mother and then lose your cousin, but he knew it had to be hard. "It's okay to cry, don't apologize."

But Darla didn't cry. She quickly wiped her eyes and pulled away from James, as though embracing was actually physically painful for her. James put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey," James said suddenly. "You tied your own tie…I'm impressed."

Darla looked down at her tie and shrugged. "Yeah, sometimes I learn new skills and…and I would really like to get back to my book."

James nodded and managed a small smile. Maybe things would go back to normal eventually. It would just take time and effort…and then more time. Eventually, James was certain, things would be normal. "Alright, Hedge-Pixie. I'm going to go down to breakfast.'

"Alright.'

Getting up off the couch, James let Darla have her reading time and went out of the Common Room, deciding he would wait downstairs until Freddie decided to wake up. He planned on keeping his mind busy over the next couple of days to keep himself from worrying himself sick over his brother. He wouldn't plan any pranks, but some new Quidditch strategies would help him out. Just as James was starting down the steps he heard a familiar half-meow. Great, the cat-like-creature had found him.

"What's the haps, Buttons," he asked and knelt down. The creature wasn't evil, it just looked evil. Darla had explained that much to him on the train. It certainly wasn't easy on the eyes.

Buttons half-meowed again, his one eye was wide and what was left of his tail was pointed straight up. He rubbed against James's arm and meowed again.

"What is it, boy? Is Freddie stuck in the bed again?" James vaguely wondered what cats would say if they could actually talk. Probably something about giving them food. "C'mon, let's go to breakfast, you can have some bacon. Cats like bacon, right?"

Buttons mewed again and looked back at the entrance to the Common Room. He turned around and walked back toward the portrait of The Fat Lady, then looked back at James and mewed again.

"Yeah, okay, kitty, you do whatever."

The cat continued to meow and James shook his head and continued down the steps. The meowing became more distant and he decided that Darla's cat was just as strange as she was. Thankfully, Darla could talk.

**Lysander**

There was nothing in the world as simple as charms. Okay, well, maybe shirts were simple too, but to Lysander charms were just as simple as shirts. He sat between his brother and Darla and worked on 'accio'. It was simple. Just a swish and a flick and then the feather was in your hand. He supposed he could really just use a levitation charm and levitate the feather over to him, but he assumed that this charm had a purpose as well.

"So, I was thinking," Lysander said though he wasn't sure who was listening. "We should go to the library again today, Darla. I'm not sure that we checked all the best books. Where did you go yesterday anyway? I brought several cookies and yet there was no Darla to give those cookies too, so I had to feed them to my owl friends."

Darla looked up, a perfectly blank expression on her face. It was the first day of classes since that Slytherin boy had died, and Lysander assumed she was still thinking about everything that had happened. "I went to bed," she answered simply.

That didn't seem right. Darla had seemed so focused on finding answers the day before and it just seemed silly for her to go off to bed, especially at such an early hour. Of course, people were just plain silly and Lysander had learned this over the years. "Well, we can work on finding answers this afternoon. I thought we might look into the possibility that Scorpius became a werewolf. I hear that the Ministry takes people who are werewolves and does all kinds of tests of them." Lysander was certain the he had read that somewhere before. The information might have been slightly outdated, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still true.

"Right," Darla said and rolled her eyes.

Something seemed off, but Lysander couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what that was. "I'm frustrated," he said and put his wand on the table.

Lorcan looked over and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Ly?"

"I'm frustrated. Brother," he repeated.

The bell tolled, signalling the end of class. Still feeling strange and frustrated, Lysander gathered up his books and silently wished that everything could be as simple as charms and shirts. He looked down and noticed that Darla's shoe was untied. This was only unusual because usually, as he had noticed, the only shoes Darla wore were ones with buckles on them so that they wouldn't have to be tied. "Laces," he muttered and shook his head. "Hold on, Dar, your shoe is untied."

Darla blinked and looked down. "Oh," she said simply and knelt down and tied her shoe perfectly.

Lysander stared at her and realized that something was horribly wrong. "You can't tie your shoe," he said and took a step back.

"Oh, Lysander," Darla said and rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal, sometimes people learn a new skill. Really, you have to make a huge deal out of every little thing that happens, don't you?" She threw her bag over her shoulder and smiled at him.

Maybe she had a point. It wasn't so strange for someone to learn how to tie their own shoe. No, Lysander thought, this is Darla! She'd never been able to tie her shoes or her own tie. Where would she find the time to learn something silly like this? "Right," Lysander said and made a mental note of this new fact. "So, are we going to the library this afternoon? I mean, I think we have some new leads on what might have taken Scorpius."

Darla stopped and looked back at Lysander over her shoulder. "This is a stupid idea," she snapped. "I mean, we're looking for answers where there are none. Scorpius just died and there's no mythical reasoning behind it. He's dead, Lysander, and no research is going to bring him back."

No, something was wrong and Lysander was sure of it now. There was no reason for Darla to suddenly be uninterested in finding out what had happened to her cousin. She had been so ready to find out the day before, how had things changed so fast? "Darla," Lysander said in a quiet voice. "What's happened to you?"

"I grew up," she growled. "I suggest you do the same."

With that, Darla crossed her arms and stormed off toward her next class. Lysander had no idea what he was supposed do. He couldn't run after her, he had potions to get to. Still, he didn't feel like he could just let her walk away. Maybe he was over thinking things, he knew that he had a tendency to over think everything. Sometimes, though, over thinking was a good thing.

"Ly," Lorcan said and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I think she's just stressed out right now. We should go to class, I'm sure she'll be fine in a few days."

In a few days? Lysander couldn't wait that long! "No, she'll be dead in a few days," he said and brushed Lorcan's hand away. "I have to find someone, take my notes for me."

Lysander knew that Lorcan would argue and mention something about how no one was going to die and how class was important, but Lysander didn't have time for this. As quickly as he could, he took off in the opposite direction and ignored Lorcan calling after him. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure if he was right. If he was right then whatever got Scorpius might have gotten the real Darla, because he was almost certain that this Darla wasn't his.

"Excuse me," he said in an airy voice and poked his head inside the door to the transfigurations classroom. "I was sent to get an Adam Smith. The headmistress needs him for a moment, it shouldn't take too long."

Professor Frangos looked up and folded her fat hands on top of her desk. "And what does she need him for, Mister Scamander?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask and I can't read minds. Well, actually, it's highly possible for the human brain to be controlled and even in some cases see into the innermost thoughts of a person. However, the mind is not an open book and it can't simply be read all willy nilly. It's a highly advanced and complicated—"

"Mister Smith, please go see the headmistress. Mister Scamander, please stop babbling like that."

Lysander smiled and tilted his head to the side. "Of course, ma'am," he said innocently.

Adam stood up and walked out, closing the door behind him. "What's going on, Lysander," he asked and followed behind the boy.

"The headmistress doesn't really want to see you, I lied."

"Really?"

"Really. I just needed to borrow you for a moment and it couldn't wait until classes were over."

Adam didn't look like he agreed with this at all. He raised his eyebrows so high that they disappeared under his fringe. "Lysander, anything can wait—"

"No!" Lysander didn't know why people were so difficult sometimes! "This is important and things that are important can't wait until class is over! Look, I just need for you to think for a moment. Has Darla Nott seemed different to you?"

Adam stepped back and shook his head. "No, I mean, well, she's grieving right now I'm sure. She was cold to me at breakfast this morning, but that's understandable."

Lysander smiled slightly. "No, it's not understandable. Darla, our Darla, would never be cold to you. I know that."

"Ly…I understand why she's being like this."

"No, you don't," Lysander said growing increasingly annoyed. "That's not Darla. Whatever got Scorpius has her."

"Scorpius? What does he have to do with this?"

"Everything. They're exactly the same right now. Darla and Scorpius were both taken by something and replaced with something else." The hard part was finding out exactly what those somethings were.

"Lysander, you're forgetting one important fact. Scorpius is dead and Darla isn't, so they can't be the same. I-I'm going back to class," he said and turned around.

Why was it that no one understood what he was trying to say? Things were much easier when Lysander had Darla to believe him. "Scorpius isn't dead, Adam," Lysander called as Adam walked away. He expected this to make Adam stop, but the boy just walked away like he hadn't heard anything. Lysander was beginning to despair. Why didn't anyone believe him when he was so obviously right?

"Scorpius isn't dead?"

Lysander spun around on his heel and found himself looking up at Albus Potter. He didn't know much about the boy, other than that he was James's little brother and he seemed to be fairly mean. "Yes! And you can call me crazy and I won't care!" Lysander threw his hands up in the air. "I know that I'm right and if you want to think I'm wrong then you can go do it someplace else because I don't care!"

Albus Potter sighed and stepped forward. "I don't think you're crazy," he said quickly. "If Scorpius is alive…I want you to find him. I want to find him." He paused and smiled slightly. "It's what my dad would do."

"You want to help, Albus Potter?" If things weren't making sense before then this fit in perfectly. It seemed crazy for someone like Albus Potter to be willing, and even wanting, to help Lysander.

"Just Al is fine," Albus Potter said. "It's just…I want to get Scorpius back. My dad would do it, even if it meant working with you."

Lysander grinned like a mad man and put his hands in his robe pockets. "Okay, Albus Potter. I want you to meet me in the library after class, we'll pick up where Darla and I left off….it'll be like we're having a hang out."

"A hang out?" Albus Potter repeated. "Whatever, yeah, it'll be like hanging out, only with a lot of research and reading. Hanging out very quietly."

"A quiet hang out," Lysander said. "I like this idea, Albus Potter."

"Yeah…it's great…" Albus turned around. "I need to get…to a place. I'll see you later, Scamander."

Lysander waved enthusiastically as Albus Potter walked away. "I'll see you this afternoon, Albus Potter! It'll the best hang out ever!"

Lysander hadn't really had a hangout with anyone other than Darla or Lorcan, and this might have been very exciting for him if it had been under different circumstances. He was going to be working with Albus Potter on finding out what had really happened to their friends and to try and stop it before whatever was pretending to be Darla from dying. Although, Lysander was certain that even if the Darla like thing did die then it wouldn't matter. Eventually, he would get her back. Maybe everyone else thought that Darla and Lysander were crazy for their theories, but Albus Potter believed them and that was all that mattered.

**Albus**

It wasn't easy to live your entire life in someone else's shadow. It was even worse when there were multiple shadows to live under. Harry Potter was the saviour of the entire wizarding world, Ginny Weasley Potter had been a professional Quidditch player, and James Potter was the trickster who still managed to be popular, play Quidditch, and get good grades. There was no possible way someone could live up to all that. No one knew what it was like to even try. Well, actually, one person had.

Scorpius Malfoy had been Albus's best friends since they met on the train to Hogwarts. He knew about shadows, except his shadow was darker. All he wanted was to give his family a better name. The two of them had come up with crazy plans to save the entire world. At first that's all they ever did. Then, as time went on, they had been able to talk about other things and soon enough they were inseparable. Where one was there was the other, always. He was the only person who understood anything that Albus said, he was the only one who thought that Albus didn't need to live up to his family name.

Then all that was yanked away. In just a matter of seconds that was taken from him and he was alone. Just like always. James had Freddie, Lily had Hugo and that Nott girl, and none of the other Slytherins understood what being in Slytherin meant to him. It was more than just a house to him, it was a change for his whole family. From what he understood, he was the first person in his family to be put into Slytherin. It was a big deal to him. He couldn't talk to them about it, he needed Scorpius back.

It had seemed like nothing could ever bring his best friend back. Then he had overheard something from the most unlikely person. He hadn't gone to class, he couldn't go. It just wasn't the same without Scorpius there to talk to or compare notes. So, he had been wandering. Now, he knew that the Scamander boys were a bit off their heads, but that didn't matter when he heard those words.

"Scorpius isn't dead."

If that was true, it there was even a chance, then Albus was going to take it and run. He didn't want to work with Lysander by any means, but he had to. The boy seemed to know what to do. Besides that, his father would have done it. His father was a hero, he was in books, and he had his own chocolate frog card. Albus wanted to be like that. To become a hero, just like his dad. Then he wouldn't be in anyone's shadow. He wouldn't be 'Albus Potter, Harry Potter's son' or 'James's little brother. No. He would be 'Albus Potter, the hero'.

Albus walked into the library, just as he had promised Lysander he would do. He didn't know if any of this was true or not, but he had to at least believe that it was. He had to believe and have hope and he had to get Scorpius back, no matter what it took. Sitting down in front of the small blonde, Albus threw his bag on the table and looked at the books in front of him. "What is this?"

"Hello to you too," Lysander muttered without looking up from what he was reading. He seemed to be captivated by his books. "These are books. You may have heard about them, but they're not just a myth or a rumour, they're real things and they're going to help us get our friends back."

"I know what a book is." This was going to be harder than Albus had planned. How could he work with someone so rude? Taking a deep breath, Albus pulled one of the books toward him and looked at the cover. "'Defaeco Levis ac Immuda Nocens'? What is this?"

"A book that Darla checked out before. I thought that maybe she read something in it that caused her to stupidly go off by herself and try to defeat whatever the thing it that took the Malfoy boy. Such a Gryffindor thing to do. Brave stupidity, that's what it is. I mean, really! How could someone be so stupid as to think that they could take down a possibly full grown something by themselves? It's just…I don't even know anymore, Albus Potter."

Honestly, Albus didn't quite know what Lysander was babbling on about, but he thought it was best to just nod and agree with the boy. He knew that they wouldn't get anywhere if they started talking about stupid things that people did. Albus opened the book and flipped through it. It didn't take him long to realize that he didn't understand any of it. "Darla read…is this Latin?"

Lysander finally looked up from his book. He craned his neck over and looked upside-down at the book. "Yes," he said simply before picking up his own book again.

"Well, I don't read Latin." Albus shook his head and closed the book back. He was about to grab another book when something jumped on the table. At first, Albus thought it was a large rat. It stared at him, the creature's huge green eyes locked on his as though it could see into his very soul. "Lysander…is this yours?"

Lysander groaned as though he was thoroughly at being interrupted again. He closed his book and looked back up. Instantly, a smile crossed over his face. "That's Buttons, he's Darla's cat." The cat let out something the might have been a meow. "Yes, Buttons, I know," Lysander said sadly. "We'll get her back."

Albus raised an eyebrow and looked at the two of them. "You understand cat?" It actually didn't surprise him that much to think that Lysander could speak cat. After all, the boy was quite strange.

"Oh, Albus Potter, you're ridiculous. I don't speak cat, besides, Buttons doesn't really know what's going on. All he knows is that Darla is gone and he's confused. He doesn't have a brain capable of processing what's going on. Merlin, it's like you've never spent three months studying cats before!"

Honestly, no, Albus had never spent any time at all studying cats. Grabbing a book that looked like it would be in English, Albus opened it up and stared at the words. Faeries. This all seemed ridiculous to him now that he stopped to think about it. He was working with someone who studied cats to try and bring back someone who had died. Still, he had to at least try. Silently, he and Lysander read through the thick books, trying to find something that pointed them in the right direction. Buttons curled up in Lysander's lap and made very soft sort-of meows. It was far past curfew and the sun was starting to rise by the time Albus fell asleep, his face falling into one of the books. It wasn't like he planned on going to classes anyway.

**Lily**

Spring would be coming soon. Spring was a time for new beginnings. It was when the cold gave way for the warmth and the trees began to blossom again. Even though the castle was cold now, Lily knew that it would eventually become warm and everything would be alright again. Once the Spring came Albus would be alright again. He had to be. Things would get better. It would be the Spring that changed everything. It had to be the same way for Darla. They just had to hold on until the cold passed.

It was the idea of Spring that had distracted Lily so much that morning. Usually she had breakfast with Hugo, but she had missed that. She had spent a good part of the morning staring out the window and looking outside for any signs that the snow was melting. Everything outside had been still and cold. The lake was still mostly frozen over and the tree branches still hung heavy with ice. It would be a long time before Spring came.

She was almost late for Potions class that morning. It would have been nice to talk to Darla before class. Lily hadn't had the chance to talk to her since the argument broke out between Darla and James. James was spending a lot of time with Albus, so she didn't have much of a chance to talk to him either. Darla had spent one entire evening with Lysander and she was sleeping the night before when Lily had gotten back to the common room. It seemed odd to find Darla asleep so early, but Lily assumed that this was how she dealt with grief. It seemed like everyone was very busy and they were too busy to talk. She was just holding out for the Spring to come.

Lily managed to slide into her seat beside Darla just before Professor Bane walked. She pulled her red hair back out of her eyes, ready to work on whatever they were assigned to do. "Hey," she whispered to Darla. "Professor Bane isn't looking too well today, is he?" At least it was conversation. It might not be comforting, but at least it was normal. Besides that, Professor Bane wasn't looking like his usual self.

Beads of sweat had formed on Professor Bane's brow and he was shaking a bit. His glasses were slightly off and he hadn't bothered to brush his hair or fix his robes. Lily figured that he was still recovering from the shock of losing a student so quickly. Then again, Darla wasn't looking so well either. He had her head propped up on her hand and her eyes were closed.

"Darla," Lily said and gently put her hand on Darla's shoulder. 'Are you alright?"

"Fine," Darla muttered. "I'm just really tired."

How could someone sleep almost twelve hours and still be tired? It didn't make much sense, but Lily wasn't going to question it. It had been a hard week, she was willing to give Darla a bit a leeway. After all, if she had lost one of her cousins then she wouldn't be quite the same for a little while.

"So," Professor Bane said, his voice was shaking slightly. "Who can tell me what should be in a potion to cause memory loss? Anyone? Miss Nott?"

Darla didn't have her hand up, but when it came to Potions she usually had the answer. She lifted her head off her hand and looked around. Her eyes were glazed over and dull. "I think I need to go to the hospital wing," she said wearily.

Professor Bane took and deep breath, took his glasses off, and cleaned then on his robes while he spoke. "Well, erm, are you sick?"

"I wouldn't be asking to go if I felt like rainbows."

"Right, of course…" He cleared his throat and slid his glasses back on. "Um…yeah, okay. Erm, Miss Potter, would you escort her please?"

Lily nodded and pushed her chair back. Well, on the plus side she wouldn't have to sit through the lecture alone. "C'mon, Darla."

Darla shook her head and gathered her books up. "I don't need any help getting there." The words were barely out of her mouth when it became evident that she did need help. Darla tried to get up. When she did her face went slightly greenish and she fell, just barely catching herself on the table. "Okay, okay, maybe I do…"

"Yeah, I'd say so," Lily said. She helped Darla back up and tried to support her. Se figured that she could copy Maggie's notes. Usually she didn't like the idea of copying someone's notes, but this was a rare moment. She helped Darla out into the hallway, trying to keep a good grip on her. "What's wrong, Dar?"

Darla gripped Lily's shoulder and struggled to keep her feet on the ground. "I don't know…I-I don't know."

There was a new fear in Darla's voice that Lily had never heard before. Instantly, her anxiety increased. She tried to remain calm, for Darla's sake, but it wasn't working well. She hurried along, going as fast as she could with Darla in the state she was in. How far away was the Hospital Wing? It felt like it took forever getting there and Lily's mind was racing. Merlin, why couldn't Professor Bane have taken Darla up? Surely it would be easier for him to just carry her than for Lily to try to support her. What kind of Professor put a little girl in charge of something like this? No, Lily told herself, you can handle this. If there were any serious problems then Professor Bane would have taken care of it. Of course! He's a Professor, he knows these things. These thoughts calmed Lily a great deal.

"Alright," Lily said as they finally got to the Hospital Wing. "Don't worry, Madame Corruntego will take care of you, aright?"

Madame Corruntego looked up from the Ravenclaw she was bandaging. She was a stick thin woman with worry lines on her face, but she always seemed happy enough. "I'll be with you two in a moment," she said and shook her head. "Honestly, Mister Boot, why would you even think that practising disarming spells in the mirror was a good idea?"

"She's really sick," Lily said urgently. Tripp Boot could wait, he wasn't that bad off, surely. "She collapsed getting up from the table and she's barely conscious."

Madame Corruntego smiled slightly patted Tripp's arm. "I'm coming, Miss Potter," she said patiently. "Now, Mister Boot, spells bounce off mirrors. You'll do well to remember that."

Tripp grinned and slid off the bed. "Thanks, ma'am," he said cheerfully before trotting out of the room, not even bothering to give Lily and Darla a passing glance.

"Now," Madame Corruntego said and stood up. "What seems to be the—oh dear." In one motion, Madame Corruntego had grabbed Darla up off the floor and laid her down on the bed. Instantly, she became very serious. "Miss Potter, you can go back to class now."

It was as though Lily hadn't even heard her. She trotted behind Madame Corruntego and looked down at Darla. "What's wrong with her?"

"Miss Potter, go back to class. I can't have any distractions right now." She propped Darla's head up. "Oh dear, she's unconscious. Miss Potter, go, I promise to keep you informed."

There was no other choice. Lily didn't want to be in the way, but she wanted to know what was going on. Still, she wasn't going to get any information unless she let the healer do her job. It took every ounce of logic she had to convince herself to be able to leave. She waited outside the Hospital Wing, trying to figure out what had happened. Maybe Darla was just very tired. Grief could take a lot out of a person, right? That made sense to her. Darla had been sleeping a lot and she hadn't seemed quite like herself. It had to be grief. How long would it be before things became normal again?

**Darla**

Head pounding and spine throbbing, Darla groaned and rolled over. What the hell had just happened and by did her whole body feel like it had been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs? More importantly, why did her face burn so much? That question was answered very quickly when Darla realized that someone was not so gently trying to slap her awake.

"Wake up. Darling, wake up!"

Darla's eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see Scorpius looking down at her. She groaned and managed to sit up, her vision was so blurry it was hard to see much of anything. "What happened?"

Scorpius let out a sigh of relief and scooted back. "Why is that the first question everyone asks? Like I know what happened. I don't even really know what happened to me. And don't even start asking where we are because I don't know."

As Darla's vision cleared up she realized that Scorpius had every reason to be confused. They were in a place that looked like either a hallway or a forest and all of it seemed to be in someone's basement. Long black trees grew around them, forming a cage. The ground was made of concrete hard black and white dirt. All around them was darkness and the forest seemed to go on forever. Strange noises surrounded them, they weren't the typical bull frog or hooting owl noises. The animals didn't sound like anything Darla had every heard before. A high pitched squeal would occasionally fill the air and a very low growl was constant.

"Scorpius," Darla said suddenly. She smiled and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her cousin. "I found you! I knew you weren't dead, I knew it!"

Scorpius groaned and pried Darla off of him. "Of course I'm not dead, why would I be? I've been gone for maybe two hours at the most and for at least an hour of that you were laying here sleeping."

Two hours? If Darla was right then Scorpius was taken at the train station. One day. Then he mysteriously died. Two days. Then she and Lysander had worked researching to find out what had happened. So, Darla didn't think that there was any possible way that it had only been two hours. "Scorpius, it's been at least three days…everyone thinks you died."

Scorpius looked up and raised an eyebrow. "They do?" He smirked slightly which Darla found strange given their situation. "Did people cry? Oh, did Kate McLain cry?"

"Scorpius! Now is not to time to see how popular you are!" Darla sighed and stood up. "Albus cried, but he was the only person I really saw." Darla filled Scorpius in on everything that had happened in the last few days (ignoring his interruptions) while she walked around the natural cage. The branches of the what-could-be-a-tree all grew close together and there was no way to get between them. It was difficult to see anything in the area. A heavy greenish fog had settled in, hiding the ground and the forest around them. After looking around, Darla realized that the only thing keeping them inside was the tree. How hard could it possibly be to get past a tree? The branches weren't even really that thick. She could easily break them off and escape.

Darla reached out and grabbed one of the branches to break it off. Just as soon as she had closed her hand around the branch thick spikes shot out of it and dug into her skin. Darla squeaked and pulled her hand away quickly, ripping her skin even worse. Her hand burned and she wrapped it up in her shirt.

"I could have told you that wouldn't work," Scorpius said and sighed. "I tried that already. There's literally no way to get out of here."

Darla pulled her hand out of her shirt and sucked on her wound as though that would make the pain stop. "There's always a way," she muttered and looked around.

Scorpius sat back down and shook his head. 'I've looked, there really isn't a way."

Defeated, Darla sat on the hard dirt and closed her eyes. How could she have let this happen to her? If she hadn't been stupid then she wouldn't be in this mess! She should have waited for Lysander to get back. If she hadn't been so damn hasty with everything then everything would be alright!

"It sucks that I'm stuck here," Scorpius said. "It sucks even more now that I'm stuck here with you. Why you? Why couldn't it be anyone else in the world?"

Darla looked up and glanced over at her cousin. He was staring down at the dirt and looked so sincere. Did he really mean that? Was she such a horrible person that Scorpius would rather anyone else be there? "Scorpius…what happened between us?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…I don't know. I mean, we used to get along pretty well." Darla wasn't sure that they were ever really close, but they at least hadn't hated each other. Right? "We used to play together and talk and…and now we don't. Now we don't do anything but hate each other. What happened?"

Scorpius looked up and stared at Darla as though she had just grown an extra head. "You seriously don't remember," he growled and shook his head again. "Yeah, we were great when we were little. You were like this little puppy that followed me around. You thought I was the greatest thing ever…and then you stopped." Scorpius looked back to the ground and bit the inside of his lip. "It was like as soon as Aunt Daphne died you decided that you didn't want me around anymore. You told me as much…with a lamp. You told me by throwing a lamp at me and saying that you hated me and wished I couldn't speak. I don't know what you meant by that, but that's what you said." Getting up, Scorpius walked over to the branches and looked out at the darkness. "You didn't even stop and think about anyone else. You thought, and I reckon you still think, that you were the only one in the world who could possibly hurt. Like you were the only person who liked her. You're just a selfish brat, Darla."

Darla stared after her cousin for a moment before looking down at the ground. She had heard something like this from her father, but she had never stopped to think that her mother dying would affect her cousin. Maybe that was why her Uncle was the way he was. He hadn't been able to save her, it must have taken quite a toll on him. Then her aunt…Daphne was her sister, that had to take a lot out of her. "You're right," Darla said and got to her feet. "I have been selfish and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it all out on you and I'm sorry. But you haven't exactly been great either. I know you were angry, but you've intentionally upset me and that's just as wrong…isn't it?"

Scorpius was silent as he considered this. He continued to stare out and stayed perfectly still. "Whatever," he muttered.

She missed him, she missed they way it was before and how they were before. She had to get over herself. Just get over herself and work on repairing all her relationships with her family. "Well…maybe we could start over. I promise I won't throw anymore lamps at you."

Turning around, Scorpius smirked slightly. "Well, I guess you might need someone to watch out for you every now and then. I mean, what with your father being insane and your friends being even worse you might need someone older to make sure you don't get hurt."

Darla smiled and took a brave step forward. "I think this is the part where we hug."

"You don't hug."

"I do now."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You're a strange one, Darla. Maybe we'll hug as soon as we get out of here…although, like I said, there's no way out of here, so there's no hug."

Darla's eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and she looked back to the tree. The branches seemed to go all the way around them…but it wasn't over top of them. There was a small opening a little more than three meters above them. That was a pretty good ways up. It would take a lot of work, but Darla thought there was a possibility that they could get through it. She wasn't sure where they would go from there, but she would figure that much out later. "Scorpius…I'm going to need to borrow your robes."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: I will admit, most of this chapter is rambling. But, there are stories that needed to be told and lives that needed to be lived. The next chapter will have a lot more of the actual plot in it. I hope you enjoy the rambles. _

**James**

Professor Longbottom paced in front of the twenty-three Gryffindors, running his hands through his hair. He had called them all together before dinner to make an announcement, but he wouldn't tell anyone what this announcement was. James watched him pace and looked around the room, something was definitely missing from all this. No, it wasn't something that was missing, someone was missing. "Hey," James said, abruptly breaking the silence. "Hold on, I should go get Darla before you make your big announcement or whatever. She's probably in the library." James paused and then remembered that Lily had mentioned something about Darla collapsing during Potions. "Wait, no, we should go up to the Hospital Wing, that's where she's at!"

"James…" Professor Longbottom said in a choked voice.

"I think she would like it if we went up there," James said and stood up. "I like it when people visit me when I'm sick or whatever. Especially when they bring me food. Which reminds me, I'm kind of hungry, do we get to go to dinner tonight?"

"James, please sit back down."

Normally James would have argued, but there was something in Professor Longbottom's voice that caused James to just shut up and sit back down. Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong. Professor Longbottom hadn't sounded angry, he had just sounded sad.

"There's going to be an announcement later today, but I thought I should be the one to tell you since I'm your Head of House and this does have to do with your house." He had to pause to take a deep breath. His eyes were closed as he spoke and he had stopped pacing. James got the feeling that Professor Longbottom wasn't going to announce that Gryffindor had prematurely won the House Cup. "Darla Nott…passed away last night. We don't know what caused it, but she collapsed during Potions class and then passed away during the night."

'Passed away', those words echoed through James's brain. Suddenly, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of him. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, and he couldn't even breathe. The world around him was fuzzy and he couldn't hear anything anyone was saying. This wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. She had been his friend, his little pet Hedge-Pixie, and she just…she just died. She had just left him with nothing, she hadn't said goodbye or anything. It was wrong. It was just wrong! Without thinking, James turned and threw his fist at the first thing he saw.

"James!"

Before he could do anything else, Professor Longbottom had his arms and was keeping him from running.

"Let me go," he shouted and struggled against his God-Father. He wasn't just going to sit here he had to do…something! Though he didn't quite know what it was James knew that he had to do something. "Let go! I have to go! I have to go!"

"I know you're upset, but that's no reason to punch Freddie in the nose!"

He had hit Freddie? Suddenly, James felt his body go a bit numb and he stopped struggling so much. James relaxed a bit and let himself be led over to the couch. He let them lay him down. Everyone was quiet, except Freddie who was moaning softly. It was too quiet and it felt like everyone was trying to torture him by leaving him with his thoughts. James laid on the couch for about ten minutes before he simply couldn't stand it anymore. "I have to go," he announced to no one in particular.

"James," Roxy said softly and reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Don't touch me," he snapped and fled the common room. He just couldn't be there anymore. He couldn't be around those people, or any people for that matter. Though he had no clue where he was going, James walked. Staying still would cause him to start thinking and he didn't want to think. Really, he wanted to shut his brain down and live without thinking for a little while. It just didn't seem possible for her to be gone like this. Was this how Albus had been feeling? It was horrible and James just wanted to be able to cut his emotions off. Before he knew what he was doing, James was running up to the Hospital Wing as fast as he could. He didn't think he had ever run so fast in his life before. He burst through the doors, panting.

"Oh, hello," a familiar misty voice said. "My brother got injured, but he won't tell me what it is that's wrong with him. I thought that our lovely residential healer could take a look at him and—ah!"

James threw his arms around Lysander and held the boy close. He had no clue what the kid was saying, but he figured the kid had to be upset. After all, he was a lot younger than James was and James wasn't sure that Lysander could deal with grief like a normal person.

"Excuse me." The 'residential healer' Madame Corruntego, looked down at the two, a look of pity on her tired face. "Mister Scamander, your brother is not hurt, he's just a bit upset right now. I gave him a potion to help him sleep."

"I want to see the body," James said before she could go on. "Darla, I want to see her body." He wasn't sure why he thought that would help, maybe he just needed to prove to himself that it was real, that she really was gone. Whatever the reason, he wanted to see it.

Madame Corruntego sighed and shook her head. "No, Mister Potter, I really can't let you do that."

James practically collapsed on the floor. "I-I need to," he choked out, tears welling up in his eye and threatening to fall.

"Mister Potter, that's disturbingly morbid," she answered and tried to help him off the floor. "I know you're upset but that's no reason—"

"Don't touch me," James shouted and swung his arms back, popping Lysander in the mouth with his elbow.

He didn't realize what was happening until he heard Lysander speak again. "Oh, that's blood…I'm bleeding. How odd…Oh, yes…that hurts…quite a lot, actually…" He didn't sound panicked, he actually seemed to find the fact that he was bleeding quite interesting.

James covered his mouth and stared at Lysander. Oh Merlin, he had hurt him! How could he hurt someone so tiny and defenceless? "Oh, Lysander! I'm so, so, so sorry! Is it bad? How bad is it? Oh no! I broke Lysander!"

"I don't think he's broken, Mister Potter. I believe he just has a busted lip."

"I busted Lysander," James yelled stood up. "Oh no…I can't-I can't handle this. I need a…I need a something!"

Lysander moved his hand away from his lip and stood up, ignoring the blood dribbling down his chin. "Don't worry, James, Lysander will take care of you." He looked up at the healer and smiled slightly. "He'll be alright, he just needs a little rest and, don't worry, I'll explain everything to him once he's stable."

For someone insane, Lysander actually seemed to have a good handle on what was going on. He wasn't panicking anyway. James had expected him to be the one having an absolute fit. Maybe he just didn't understand. Was Lysander even capable of understanding how death worked? "I need…I need…I don't know…"

"I know," Lysander said took James by the arm. "Don't worry about a thing, everything is going to be perfectly fine, trust me. I know exactly what's going on."

Sure he did. Sure, Lysander was smart, right? Maybe he did understand this. Maybe he even knew things that James didn't. Either that, or he had made up his own little fantasy world to cope with everything.

"You just need to lie down," Lysander told him and helped walk him down the hallway. "Just lie down and get some sleep, alright?" Lysander stopped outside the portrait of The Fat Lady and put his hands on James's shoulders. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Albus and I will get her back, alright?"

"Albus," James said only vaguely hearing what Lysander was saying. "Oh God! Albus! Albus is alone! He's upset! I have to—"

"No, no, no," Lysander said and looked up at James. "You have to go take care of James. Don't worry, Albus will be with me and everything will be perfectly okay. Just lie down and we'll talk later, alright? Lying down will make you feel so much better."

James nodded. Did that make sense? Was it important to lie down and sleep some? That's what his mother would tell him to do, right? "Lie down, feel better," he repeated vaguely.

"Yes, good. Good James." Lysander let go of James and turned around. "I'll find you later once you've had time to understand everything, and then I'm going to blow your mind!"

Before James had the chance to comprehend what he had just been told, Lysander was gone. How the hell did that kid get around so quickly? He just blinked and Lysander was gone. Just like Scorpius and just like Darla.

James felt disconnected from his body. It was like he was moving but he couldn't control where he was going. His body knew where it was supposed to go and it had no time to work out anything that his brain was saying. The common room was deserted. James wondered if anyone was trying to figure out where he had gone. This was perfect, he didn't want to be around people for a little while. Strange, he thought, usually I love being around people. He shouldn't be feeling this way, should he? It wasn't like Darla was his entire life. He had only known her for a little more than five months. Would he feel the same way if this had been Adam or one of the twins? Darla was a member of his house…had she become a Gryffindor because of him? How much influence did he really have over someone's life? If she hadn't been a Gryffindor then would she still be alive? Was this all his fault? He shouldn't have pulled her into his life, if he hadn't then things would be normal. Why did he do things like this? James laid himself down on the couch and pulled something from behind the couch cushions.

Something seemed to just absolutely break inside his mind. The small stuffed animal in his hands transfigured in front of him from a hedgehog to a small fuzzy pixie-like creature. His mother had helped him with the transfigurations, he had just come up with the idea. He had made Darla a Hedge-Pixie, he had made her a Gryffindor, he felt like he had been the one to teach her so much about being around people. He remembered when she had first come to Hogwarts. The phrase 'got got your tongue' had left her just absolutely baffled and she didn't even know how to hug! He had showed her how to sneak around the castle and how to hug and break into the kitchen and pull pranks. How could everything he had done been for nothing? How could it all be pulled away like that?

"You alright, Jamie?"

James looked up to see Lily leaning over the back of the couch, looking just as lost as he felt. "Hey," he said and tried to smile but he couldn't find it in him to try very hard at all. "You want to sit down, Lils?"

James pulled his legs back toward him and Lily slid over the arm of the couch and sat by him, resting her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the clock tick. "Ly is taking care of Buttons," Lily finally said to break the silence. "He said that the cat has been hanging out with him for a few days…."

"Oh…good."

Again, there was silence. It was much easier to deal with Albus. He knew what to tell him. 'It'll be okay' 'everything happens for a reason' and simple things like that. With Lily it was different. Lily was a much different person than Albus. Lily was younger and more innocent than Albus. How did he handle this? How was he supposed to be a good big brother and comfort his baby sister when he didn't even know how to take care of himself?

"Th-they took her stuff out of the dormitory," Lily said, her voice cracking as she spoke. "They sent it to her house…her father isn't going to be here…" Lily paused and pursed her lips together, trying to keep herself from crying. She was only eleven, though, and there was only so much she could do about it. "I just…I can't believe it, James. It's like, I just saw her this morning and now she's just gone. Like, she was here and then I looked away and she was gone! I thought she was just upset about Scorpius, but she was really sick! I knew she was acting weird, but I thought it was just because she was sad! We could have done something!"

James swallowed a lump in his throat and shut his eyes tightly. He reached out and ran his fingers through Lily's hair. Yes, he was upset, but right now he couldn't show that. He had to be a big brother and take care of his little sister. That was his job, his only job, and he had to do it! "There was no way anyone could have seen this coming, Lils. It was just one of those things that happens, alright? We've got to be strong, okay? We'll get through this."

Lily pressed her face against James's shirt and took several deep breaths. Her back was shaking and James realized very quickly that Lily was crying. What could he do? Just like with Albus, instinct took over and he seemed to have some sort of idea. Albus didn't like being touched that much, but Lily needed James to hold onto her tight and not let go. She needed him to be close to her and keep her together. James held onto Lily as though she was much smaller than she actually was. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. Though he didn't know how long it would take, James was ready for it to take forever. Lily might be upset for quite a while, but he was her big brother and he had to take care of her. No matter what happened and regardless of what he was feeling, he had to take care of her.

**Theodore**

Theodore Nott sat for the longest time just staring at the book in his lap. _I'm your moon, you're my star_. He remembered reading it to his daughter when she was about two. That was before Daphne got bad, before he had to start working so hard, before he stopped caring about the world around him. Somewhere in his mind Theodore knew that he had to move out off the bed, he would have to leave the room, make arrangements, finish work. He knew this, but he couldn't will himself to move off his daughter's bed. He didn't want to leave the room. Mainly, he didn't want to be alive. If he could trade places with her, or any of the people he had lost, he gladly would. At least that would make his chest stop hurting and his head stop pounding. So many years he had lost. So many years he could have spent with his only child. So many years that he would never get the chance to make up.

"Hey, Theodore?"

Theodore didn't move to look at who was in the doorway, he recognised Blaise's soft drawling voice, he didn't need to look to know who it was. "There were times," he said, though his throat was so dry that it was difficult to speak. "Times that I would lie awake at night and wonder why it was Daphne who had died. It would have been better if I had been the one to die." He gave a hollow and dry laugh. "For everyone. Daphne had family left, she had her sister, her mother, her father, you and Mars, but what did I have? I had the same thing I have now. Nothing. I have nothing. She would have been a great mother. What was I? A man who barely knew he had a daughter. I should have died."

It was strange for Blaise to see his friend in such a state. Theodore had always seemed like he didn't care. When his mother died Theodore seemed to become more introverted than he was before. The only flicker of emotions Blaise ever saw Theodore express were a little smirk or an irritated groan. Seeing him act like this was absolutely heartbreaking. "Don't say that. You're alive for a reason. Besides, you've got me, Dork…"

Ignoring Blaise, Theodore reached down and opened the book on his lap. _I don't care if you're far away, I don't care if you go astray. I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star_. "Did you know that was her first word? Moon. Although, she didn't say it like moon. It sounded more like 'muuf', but it was definitely moon. I must have read her this book a hundred times. 'People will come and people will go, but I hope that you will always know: I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star."

"People's words will bruise and sting," Blaise continued and sat on the bed nest to Theodore. "I'm here for you for anything. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star."

It was like he could feel his heart breaking as he read the familiar words. "Let them think what they like because we know we're fine. I will always be right here by your side. I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star." That was it, that was the line that finally broke him. His voice cracked and a lump formed in his throat and he couldn't finish the book, he couldn't even bring himself to speak. He picked Prowly up off Darla's trunk by her bed. Hogwarts had sent Darla's things home. Theodore had started to go through it, but when he found Prowly he had almost lost it. That stupid stuffed owl. Daphne had convinced him to buy that stupid thing before Darla was born. She had thought it was cute, he hadn't seen the point in stuffed animals. Still, he had bought it. It had surprised him that Darla had kept the ratty old thing for so long. It was starting to fall apart, its fur was mostly gone, and it had lost a fair bit of stuffing. It was a bit comforting, though, just to hold it. Theodore took several shaky breaths and squeezed Prowly tight. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes, but he wasn't going to let himself cry. He had spent years teaching himself how not to cry, he couldn't let all that go to waste.

Blaise reached over and softly put his hand on Theodore's shoulder. "It's okay," he said, though Theodore knew that was a lie. Nothing was okay anymore and it hadn't been okay for a very long time.

When he looked over at Blaise, Theodore lost his ability to keep his emotions bottled up. It was seeing Theodore in such a state that caused tears to roll down Blaise's face. After all, he barely knew Darla, he had only seen her a few times since Daphne had died, he had little reason to actually cry over her untimely death. It wasn't that he didn't care about the girl, he had grown fond of her. Still, crying over her felt selfish for some reason. Theodore, however, he knew Theodore. He knew what Theodore looked like when he was ready to break, and he knew that sometimes it was better to let everything out that to keep it bottled inside. Blaise put his arm around Theodore, keeping him close like he was a child.

Normally, Theodore would have pushed Blaise away from him and told him he had some work to do. Now, however, Theodore wouldn't let go. Someone was screaming and it took Theodore a moment to realize that the scream was his own. Finally, he just let himself break down against Blaise. His glasses pressed hard against his face, but he didn't care. At least the pain meant his body wasn't totally numb and he could still feel. For the first time in a very long time, tears spilled out and rolled down his cheeks. It was too much, it was all just too much for anyone to handle. The two men held onto each other as though afraid they might disappear if they didn't, and they cried together.

After about half an hour, Theodore was certain that he couldn't possibly muster up any more tears. His chest hurt and felt like it was too big for his body and his head was throbbing. He had thought that if he cried it would make him feel better. It would release all the emotions inside him and let them free. It didn't. It just make him feel even more drained than he had before. His throat was killing him and he wasn't sure if he could speak or not. "I'm in over my head," Theodore finally choked out. "I can't do this again, I can't. People aren't meant to go through this all through their lives! Most people at least get to keep someone! But then there's me, and what do I lose? My mother, my wife, and now my daughter. This doesn't happen to normal people! Normal people don't lose everyone in their life. Wha-what's wrong with me, Blaise?"

"Nothing is wrong with you," Blaise said softly. "Some people just have really bad luck." Blaise shook his head and looked down at Theodore, his stomach turning as he watched his best friend suffer.

Theodore didn't know what to say. He pulled away from Blaise and leaned back against the pillows, still clutching that stupid stuffed owl. He wondered how many tears Prowly had seen and he even found himself stupidly wondering if the inanimate animal hated him. If it had a brain then Theodore was sure it would hate him. After all the fights he had with his daughter, all the times he had ignored her, yes, he was certain that the animal hated him. "The last thing I said to her…" he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember. "I told her…to pull up her grade in Charms."

Blaise closed his eyes and lightly brushed back Theodore's hair. "She knows that you love her," he said. "She knows and you know that she loved you. After you were in the hospital you both found out how much you really cared about each other. I know that she knew that you loved her."

"I never told her," Theodore admitted.

"You didn't need to tell her. Sometimes it's just something you know. Love is something that doesn't need words. Sometimes there are no words to explain it. Sometimes you just know."

Sure, that made sense in some strange way, but Theodore still wasn't totally convinced. Why hadn't he simply told his daughter that he loved her? Why had it been so hard? Why couldn't he have just been a normal person and done normal father thigns? Theodore felt like bashing his head against the wall until his skull cracked open. He had spent years accidentally forgetting about Darla, forgetting she was home, forgetting she was at school, forgetting about meals and birthdays and Christmas. Now, when he most wanted to forget about her, he couldn't. At first he had tried to work on his research, tried to translate ruins, even tried reading Latin, but nothing could take his mind off, not only his daughter, but his wife. Both of them were nothing now, nothing but bodies without any soul. If he could just perfect his theory then things would be better! Things would be right and normal and they could have a happy little family again.

"Here." Blaise reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle filled with a powder blue liquid. "Draco wanted me to slip this in your drink, but I'm not quite as evil as he is. Drink it, it'll help you sleep."

For once, Theodore didn't question a potion from his brother-in-law. If it killed him, well, it killed him and he really didn't even care. He uncorked the vial and downed the liquid. As soon as he swallowed, the world became fuzzy and everything was out of focus. Theodore adjusted his glasses to make sure it wasn't just a sight problem "Merlin," he whispered as the world went dark.

It might have been raining. It was really difficult to tell from the Slytherin Common Room. The depths of the lake were the only things that could be seen from outside the window. It felt like a day for rain. It was cold enough to snow, though. It was three days after Holiday break and thus far Theodore hadn't really seen anyone. Sure, Draco had come over and rambled about how many presents he had gotten and Blaise had mentioned something about his mother's newest boyfriend, but Theodore wasn't listening to either of them. He had more important things on his mind. It was strange to him that people could be so damn happy. Of course, they didn't know. How could they know? He hadn't told anyone.

The couch suddenly sunk slightly with newly added weight. Theodore shut his eyes tighter and pretended not to notice. Maybe if he just stayed still them whoever it was wouldn't notice him.

"Hey Nott, I know you're not asleep so why don't you stop pretending and actually speak to someone?"

Well, his not so clever ruse was obviously destroyed. Theodore sat up and pulled his glasses off the table in front of him. "What do you want," he asked and looked over at the girl beside him. Daphne Greengrass had never said much to him, why would she talk to him now?

Daphne tossed back her long dark hair and leaned against the couch cushions. "What, can't I talk to you?" She fluttered her eyelashes and smiled slightly. "I'm worried about you, Theodork."

Oh no, had that stupid nickname Blaise gave him really caught on already? "Well, don't be. I'm perfectly fine."

"Oh, Please, Dork. You and I both know that that's not true so shut up!" Daphne crossed her arms and pursed her lips. After a moment, she lowered her gaze and sighed. "Was it your dad? I mean, I don't mean to intrude or anything but, um…I read about your mum in the Daily Prophet. It wasn't really specific, but I remember you talking to Blaise before about how your dad could be…um…sorry, I'm pressing."

How did she know so much about him when he had barley spoken to her? Theodore readjusted his glasses and stared at the floor. "You can't tell anyone," he said quickly. How did she know? No one was supposed to know. No one could know that it was his father who took his mother away.

Daphne looked up and, before Theodore knew what was happening, she leaned across the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, Theodore! I'm so sorry, of course I won't say a word!"

Suddenly, he was laughing. He stood in his wife's room at Saint Mungos, leaning against his cane. His short black hair feathered out around his tanned face and his bright blue eyes sparkled. "Are you sure that's _my_ daughter," he asked for what had to be the fiftieth time.

"For the last time, Theodore, yes, I'm positive," Daphne said and smiled up at him. Long strands of dark hair clung to her thin reddened cheeks. Her newborn daughter was wrapped up in a white blanket, her head was the only thing uncovered. Daphne ran his fingers through the baby's sheep-soft tuft of black hair and grinned.

Theodore shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't exactly had a daughter before, I'm having a bit of trouble believing that any of this is real," he said. It shouldn't have been a huge shock to him. After all, he had watched his wife's stomach expand over the course of nine months and he had just seen the baby born. "Have you thought of a name at all?"

Daphne pursed her lips. "I want "Queenie' in there somewhere, as a bit of a tribute to my mother. She should have an original first name, though. I don't want her to grow up thinking she has to live up to a name. She needs…Something. Something different, something that not many girls are going to have."

"Shirley?"

For a moment Daphne just stared at Theodore. Then, she cracked up and covered her mouth with her hand. "Shirley Nott," she said.

Theodore smiled and brushed back his hair. "Alright, alright, seriously now, a good name….Kick," Theodore guessed.

Daphne rolled her eyes, this was the reason Theodore couldn't name pets. "I was thinking about Darla…It means 'dearest one', and she is, after all, our dearest one."

It was Theodore's turn for an eye roll. Darla. Honestly, what kind of name was that for a girl? Or anyone, for that matter? He was about to argue and put in a few good words for 'Kick' when the door opened.

Draco stepped in the room and managed a smile. "It's nice to see you're all in good spirits here," he said, a bit awkwardly. "Theodore, I need to see you in the hall for a minute."

"Hold on, Malfoy." Theodore was beyond not being in the mood for a Draco sized ramble. "I'm trying to name my daughter and Daphne here won't listen to my suggestions." His suggestions, of course, were all in good fun. He was pretty sure he would die before he actually named his daughter something ridiculous like 'Kick'.

Daphne looked up and smirked. "Please, take him, he's trying to name our daughter 'Kick'."

"Isn't that what you named my cat," Draco asked.

Theodore shrugged and limped over to Draco. "Yeah, well, your cat was fun to kick."

"Thank Merlin you can't kick anymore," Draco said, wishing dearly that he just hit Theodore sometimes. Of course, no wasn't the time for hitting anyone. Draco closed the door behind then and sighed. "Theodore…I have some bad news."

Theodore simply rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Draco, I really don't have the time to entertain you and your mediocre problems."

"Theodore…"

"Stop talking, Draco. I'm really in a bit of a hurry, I have to stop my wife before she names my daughter something stupid."

Draco sighed, it was difficult not to get mad at Theodore. He was being impossible, as per usual. "Theodore, just listen, please," he practically begged. "It's about Daphne, there's a bit of a complication. Her body seems to be rejecting, well, everything. We thought that it was just a simple complication, but she seems to be rejecting all the potions we're giving her as well…"

For a few minutes Theodore seemed to lose his ability to speak. "You're a healer, Draco, you know what to do."

"Theodore, we're trying…but if we can't find something…" Draco paused and looked down at the floor, unable to meet Theodore's eye. It was difficult and nearly impossible for him to do this! "She'll have ten years, maybe less…ten would be if you're very lucky."

Theodore just shook his head and turned around, relying on his cane more than usual. Maybe that was because his head was spinning so quickly that he could hardly stand. He couldn't lose his wife, he just couldn't, not after she had spent so much time working with him and getting him to a place where he was finally okay. He was finally at a point in his life where he could laugh and smile and it wasn't forced. "Fix it," he said simply before returning to the room.

The sky outside had turned dark and grey and rain beat hard against the windows, giving some sound to the otherwise silent room. Daphne lay in the bed, only vaguely resembling what she had once been. Her long brown hair was thin and faded, all the gloss and bounce had gone out of it. The last eight years hadn't been kind to her, the disease had taken over her blood and had destroyed her body. Her eyes were dull and her skin looked like wax someone had formed over her bones. She parted her chapped lips in an attempt to speak, but very little sound came out. Theodore stayed by her bedside, his hair had grown long and went unwashed and his body was unhealthily thin. He held onto his wife's bony hand, making empty promises of her making it through.

"Theo," she finally said, her voice weak and cracked. Her throat was so dry it was hard to speak.

Theodore jerked forward and leaned close to his wife. There were days where she couldn't even remember his name, maybe this was a sign that she was finally improving slightly. "Daphne?"

Daphne rolled her head over and stared at him, her eyes were weak and glazed over. "I love you," she croaked out and brought his hand to her lips. "Please…kill me…"

Theodore's eyes widened and he swallowed. This was absolutely ridiculous, he couldn't kill his wife, not after he had worked so hard to try and make her better. "We'll fix it," he promised. "Draco and I, we'll figure out what it is that's wrong and we'll fix it."

"Don't," she whispered. "It's time…I can't put you two through it anymore…"

Theodore gripped his wife's hands tightly. He knew what she wanted, but following her wishes would kill him just as much as it would kill her. "As soon as I figure it out, I'll bring you back," he promised.

"Shh…" Daphne closed her eyes. "Tell our daughter that I love her…"

"I will…" Theodore blinked back tears. He knew exactly how to do it, it wouldn't be difficult. There was a potion that was constantly being fed to her bloodstream through a small tube. "I'll bring you back, I promise." Theodore reached over, closed his eyes, and pulled the tube out from Daphne's arm.

Daphne hissed as the pain set in. She managed to open her eyes just enough to look at Theodore. "Promise me you…"

Whatever it was the Daphne wanted Theodore to promise he would never know. Her body slipped into a comatose state and she was neither alive nor dead. Theodore knew that it would only be a few hours before she finally passed on, and he didn't want to be the one around to see it. He figured that Draco would come in soon to take care of her and, wordless, he slipped out of the door, not noticing that he hadn't been alone.

This was most certainly NOT the way Draco wanted to do this. Sure, he had done this very same thing he was about to do and he had said the very same words he was about to say, but this was much different than any of the times before. This wasn't some stranger who may or may not have a breakdown. This was his best, and possibly only, friend in the world, and Draco had no clue what the reaction would be. Draco himself felt absolutely sick about the whole thing. He wasn't sure if it was the knowledge of what he had to do that made him sick, or if it was the smell of fresh death that seemed to stick to the inside of his nostrils. Taking a deep breath, he creaked open the door to the study.

Theodore sat silent at his desk in front of the bookshelf. If seemed all his focus was on whatever he was writing. His dark blue eyes were trained on the words in front of him, his quill flew across the parchment and he had a very intense look on his face, as though he was writing the most important word that had ever been written. His dark hair was falling into his thin face, but he barely seemed to notice it at all. It wasn't until Draco cleared his throat that Theodore noticed there was anyone else in the room. He didn't stop writing, he just narrowed his eyes a bit. "Yes, please do barge into my study uninvited. You know I simply adore when you do that."

Yes, this was the hard part. Theodore looked rather relaxed, well, he looked relaxed for Theodore anyway. Draco hated to ruin whatever he was doing by giving him what could quite possibly be the worst news of his life. "Are you busy," he asked stupidly.

For just a moment Theodore looked highly amused. He was vaguely reminded of when they were in school. Draco would always, absolutely always, find Theodore when he was in the middle of a particularly hard assignment and ask him the same ridiculous question 'are you busy'. The boy seemed to have a knack for bad timing. "Oh, of course not," Theodore drawled, rolling his eyes. "As you can plainly see, I'm just sitting here enjoying a nice cup of coffee and gazing out the window." Even though Theodore's voice was overly monotone, the sarcasm was quite clear. He did not, at any point, stop writing.

"Don't do that," Draco groaned and leaned back against the wall. He would have closed his eyes, but he was afraid he would fall asleep. After doing the math he realized that he had been in the downstairs bedroom for eighteen of the last twenty-four hours. Being a Healer was never an easy job, but only now did he realize how exhausting it was. "Look, I just need to talk to you."

"You're talking to me now, congratulations, you've completed the task you set out to do." Theodore knew exactly what Draco was going to say, he knew exactly what had happened. It was much easier just to work and ignore the man. Theodore half considered telling Draco that he already knew, but he couldn't say it. He didn't want it to be true and he foolishly thought that if he ignored the problem then it would go away.

By this point Draco was getting quite annoyed. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. After all, his brother-in-law had never been particularly, well, caring, but he would like some sort of response. It felt very much like he was trying to talk to a tree. "It's about Daphne," he blurted out. If he was going to say something then now was the only time he could say it. There wasn't a 'right time', there never was. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked slightly. "It's…Theodore she's…"

"I see,' Theodore said, his eye starting to twitch. "So you interrupted my work to come in here and stutter at me? What a brilliant use of both our time. I'm so happy we've had this conversation."

It occurred to Draco that if he was going to get through to Theodore then he had to be completely blunt about it. "I did what I could, I did everything in my power to…" he couldn't finish, but he didn't think he really needed to. It was easy enough to fill in the blanks.

It was as though someone had pressed a pause button on Theodore. His quill stopped moving and he stared blankly at his parchment, absorbing what Draco had said. For a moment, he didn't even breathe. He just sat there, the world crashing silently around him. After eight long years of suffering, his wife was actually gone. No, he couldn't let Draco see anything, he couldn't let him see any emotion. Then, his quill started to move again and he started to breathe. "You should probably inform Darla as well," he said as though Draco had simply informed him that it was snowing outside.

Draco stared at him for a moment. He had seen a lot of reactions from people when they were informed that their loved ones were dead. Some people broke down crying, some people started hitting walls, and some people seemed to go into a near comatose state. There were a lot of ways to deal with bad news, but Draco could never remember seeing anyone simply continue on with their life. "She already knows," he said through his teeth.

Theodore nodded and bit the inside of his lip. He felt sick, but he couldn't show that, he was angry, but he wasn't sure why, and he was absolutely, positively crushed inside, but he had absolutely no clue as to how to express that. "Well, that saves me from having to explain what happened," he said simply and pulled a book close to him. "If that's all you have to say then I would like you to leave now. I believe that there are funeral arrangements to make."

"You're not serious," Draco said, his eyes widening. He couldn't tell what was happening in Theodore's mind, he had no way to know that his friend was experiencing a great number of emotions. All he knew was what he saw in front of him, and that was a man who seemed like he wouldn't care any less. Draco moved forward and put his hands on Theodore's desk, his hand hitting the coffee cup and nearly knocking it over. Luckily, Draco quickly grabbed the cup and managed to save it.

"Of course I am. It's considered appropriate to have a funeral when someone dies, isn't it? If not, then I must have missed the memo." He reached forward and picked up his nearly ruined coffee and took a drink. It tasted bitter in his mouth, though he figured that was mainly because he felt like he was going to be sick. More than anything he wanted for Draco to simply leave him alone. That was all he had ever wanted, really, to be left alone. Of course, that couldn't happen, that could never happen. In life there would always be people who needed other people. Theodore hadn't planned for anything that had happened in his life to happen. He hadn't planned on falling in love, he hadn't planned on having a daughter, and he hadn't planned on watching his wife slowly waste away. He had, however, planned on his wife dying. As soon as he knew about her illness he knew what it meant. It meant that one day, one day soon, he would lose her. He had known it was going to happen. Even so, he couldn't help but feel as though someone had stabbed him in the gut. He didn't want anyone, especially Draco, to see him feel what he was feeling. He wasn't sure how long he could contain what he was feeling, but he was sure it wasn't long.

Draco stared at Theodore for what seemed like ages. It just seemed, well, awful. Yes, his best friend had just lost his wife, but Draco still felt very much like punching him right in his face. "You don't even care,' he said, sounding as though he didn't totally believe it. "I don't…I don't even know you." With that, Draco turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him.

Finally, he was alone. He was alone with his thoughts. Theodore quickly realized that being alone with one's thoughts was actually a terrible thing. His mind started racing, as though his brain was trying to give him every memory he had of Daphne. It made him feel as though his head was going to quite literally explode. Pulling out his wand, Theodore planned on locking the door and putting a silencing charm on the room so he could scream until his throat threatened to rupture and rebel. Of course, things rarely went according to Theodore's plans.

The door creaked open again, much slower this time. Theodore rolled his eyes, assuming that Draco was coming back in to apologize profusely and then offer to buy him a Sugar Quill or get him some coffee. This was not the case. Instead his daughter crept into the room, looking very much like she thought she wasn't supposed to be there. For the first time, Theodore noticed how very small she was. Or maybe she just looked so small because she looked absolutely terrified. Her hazel eyes were wide and looked like saucers. She was paler than normal, which was really saying something considering she was almost as pale as Theodore. Someone, presumably her Aunt Astoria, had pulled her short black hair into two pigtails that looked absolutely ridiculous. Her hair wasn't nearly long enough to be pulled into any sort of style.

"Hello," Theodore said finally to fill the awkward silence. He had, honestly, not spent much time with his daughter. In the beginning, he worked while Daphne took care of her, then after Daphne got too sick to do that, Darla stayed with her aunt and uncle, now-a-days she tended to take care of herself. Frankly, Theodore had no idea what to say.

"Hello," Darla said back in the same monotone voice. She glanced around the room, some of her fear appeared to have faded. Darla wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Though she knew exactly why she was there she had no idea what she was supposed to do or say. For a moment she just stood there. Then she bravely took a few steps forward and slumped into the chair in front of her father's desk.

Theodore cleared his throat. He absolutely, positively did not know what to do. There were a million things he could do, thousands of comforting things he could say. But, what did he say? "Don't slouch, dear."

"You slouch," Darla immediately retorted and she purposely slid down a little further in the chair, though her feet still didn't quite touch the floor. "Auntie Toria taught me how to make a cat out of paper. Wanna see?" Darla swung her legs back and forth and put her hands on her stomach.

Sighing, Theodore looked back to his paper, but he just didn't feel too much like writing anymore. What a shame. He had been on such a roll before. "Not really…"

Ignoring him, Darla reached forward and grabbed a piece of parchment that may or may not have contained important research on it, she didn't really care. She ripped it into a square and started folding. "Uncle Draco says that you're fired," she told him nonchalantly.

"I'm fired," Theodore repeated and raised an eyebrow. He didn't feel so much like screaming anymore, but he also didn't feel like entertaining a young girl's rambles. Some part of him, however, knew that he had to. "And just what am I fired from?"

Darla shrugged and stared down at the parchment in her hands. "He says you're terrible and you're fired from being my daddy," she answered him very matter-of-factly. Apparently the origami cat wasn't going so well because she quickly crumbled it up and threw it to the side.

Theodore stared at the paper on the ground, thinking about how rude it was just to throw it on the floor, but he didn't mention it. "Oh," he said simply. He hadn't thought he was being terrible, he had simply wanted to be left alone. That wasn't such a terrible thing.

"I'm not going to fire you," Darla went on. "I mean, it just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Well, it doesn't seem that way to me. It's not…what's that word you used?" She scrunched up her face for a moment. "Oh, yes, mature. Firing you wouldn't be the mature thing to do."

Mature. Theodore couldn't believe half of what he was hearing. His daughter, barely eight years old, was telling him what the mature thing to do was. He was starting to wonder what the hell went on in this little girl's mind. After a moment, he realized exactly what she was doing. She was imitating exactly what she was seeing in front of her. She was reacting almost exactly the same way he was. Theodore wondered then how she would act if she had come in here and found him screaming or crying. He humored the idea that Darla wasn't actually a child and she was just a short adult who happened to live in his house.

Darla took a deep breath and, when Theodore didn't say anything, continued. "I can't actually fire you, anyway. I mean, what with Momma," she choked on the word and looked over to the window. For a moment she quietly collected herself. "Momma has gone to become a star, you know."

"A star," Theodore repeated.

"Oh yes." Darla looked up, her eyes wide. "I remember last Christmas I was talking to Great Auntie Cissa. She told me that people never die. People only say they're dead because they don't understand, because they're silly." Darla seemed very excited about the whole star thing. He eyes lit up brightly and she was, oddly enough, smiling a bit.

Theodore nodded and crossed his arms. "And what exactly is it that silly people don't understand."

"Daddy, don't act like you understand," she said, sounding a bit cross with him. "You're one of those silly people who don't understand." She sighed and shook her head. It reminded Theodore of the time he tried to explain Arithmancy to Draco. "Don't worry, I can explain it to you. You see, outside there are hundreds and millions of stars. Now, silly people, like you, would happily tell me that these stars are simply…simply… well, they're simply something that they aren't. But, then you have smart people like Great Auntie Cissa and I who know."

"Darla, are you going to drag this out forever and just keep calling me silly or are you going to get to the point?"

Darla sighed again and rolled her eyes. "Your impatience will simply be the death of us all, I swear it! As I was saying before someone so rudely interrupted me, the stars are not simply the things they aren't. They're souls!" She threw he hands up as though this was the only explanation. "When people die they become a star. You can look out your window and you know that the person you lost is out there, looking down at you. It's quite simple and quite true."

Theodore almost felt like laughing. This was by far both the most childish and the most grown up thing he had ever heard his daughter say. It was official, he thought, she was mad with grief and this was how she went through it. "I see…" Theodore said, because he really couldn't think of anything else to say.

Silence engulfed them both. Neither of them quite knew what to say anymore. Theodore was thinking about Darla's star theory and trying to figure out what all he was having to go through over the next few weeks. Darla, on the other hand, was staring at her father, trying to read his face. It was so quiet that Theodore found it easy to get lost in his thoughts and forget Darla was even there. He would have to write several letters, put off his research for a little while, clean out the downstairs room…

"Daddy," Darla said, finally breaking the silence. "I know that stars are great and all, and they're really pretty…" she trailed off and took a shaky breath. "I know that we always need more stars and that people like to look at them but…but I don't want Momma to be a star," she blurted out. Her emotions were not as easily contained as Theodore's. Obviously, she had been trying very hard to keep what she was feeling inside of her, but it was too much for her tiny body to take. In a few mere seconds she had gone from being a small adult to being the child that she actually was. She leaned forward and put her head in her lap, her body convulsing as she sobbed.

Theodore's brain seemed to shut down, which was a good thing because if he had to think about this then he would have no clue what he was supposed to do. Instinct took over and he very nearly jumped over his desk. He stumbled around it instead and instantly pulled his daughter into his arms. Knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could actually say to make her feel any better, Theodore simply repeated the phrase 'don't cry' several times.

Saying 'don't cry' did absolutely nothing at all to help. It took more than twenty minutes for Darla to stop crying, and that was only because she had actually cried herself into exhaustion and had managed to fall asleep. Theodore held her tiny body in his arms and sat propped up against the wall, which he was softly banging his head against. He thought that if he did it enough times that it might knock him unconscious. Unfortunately for him, it did nothing but give him a horrible migraine. At this point, Theodore didn't know what to do with himself. It seemed like everything was gone. Almost everything he had in the world was gone and would soon be underground. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was okay anymore. He couldn't bring himself to cry. Once he had read that crying actually made you feel better, but he just couldn't do it. It felt almost like he didn't know how to cry anymore. As though there was so much hurt that mere tears weren't enough to sum it up. At some point, however, he fell asleep.

How long he slept he didn't know. When he woke up he was in his bed and the sun was shinning brightly through his window. He tried to sit up, but his body felt too heavy to move. It seemed like it would take too much effort to even completely open his eyes. Through his sleepy haze, however, he saw someone sitting at his bedside.

"You" he slurred, struggling to stay awake. "You…you drugged me."

Draco sighed and reached over to put his hand on Theodore's head. "Only because I had to. You're still running a fever. Nothing serious, of course, but you should probably stay in bed today," he said, as though Theodore had much of a choice.

Groaning, Theodore mustered the strength to roll over away from Draco. "The coffee." He remembered Draco grabbing his coffee cup to keep it from falling over. The bastard had drugged it! "I hate you more than…more than you can…can com…pre..hend."

"Oh, please, you've been saying that since I was nine."

"It's still true."

Much to his surprise, Draco laughed slightly and leaned back. "Well, at least I know you're not totally out of your mind anymore. Yesterday you kept muttering some nonsense about antique animals and human vases filled with candles."

Yesterday? Theodore wondered how long he had been out for and what had actually happened and what had he only dreamed happened. "Tell me it was a dream," he said miserably into his pillow.

"Well, I reckon so. I mean, I can imagine why we would even begin to fill human vases with candles." Draco didn't need to see Theodore's face to know that he should probably shut up. "Sorry," he said as though that made anything any better at all. Reaching back, Draco picked a goblet off the window sill. Considering Theodore was still suffering from the after effects of being drugged, Draco put his hand on the back of his head and lifted him up. "Drink this."

Theodore turned his head to the side. "Um, no?"

"Theodore—"

"You drugged me," Theodore repeated. "You drugged me and now you expect me to drink some other strange concoction that may or may not kill me? No."

Draco sighed. "If I hadn't drugged you then you wouldn't have slept, first of all, secondly, this isn't some 'strange concoction', its water, you git."

"Oh…" Slightly embarrassed, Theodore opened his mouth and drank a bit. After Merlin-only-knows-how-many days of sleep, Theodore throat was horribly dry. At first, the water burned a bit going down, but it turned into a very cool relief. Without worrying about what Draco may or may not have slipped into his drink, Theodore finished what was in the goblet and leaned back down. Some of the fuzziness seemed to have left his head and his limps didn't feel quite so heavy. "You drugged me," he repeated.

"Out of love."

"Though I can't quite explain why, when you say those words they come off sounding incredibly creepy."

A smile pulled at Draco's mouth for a moment, and then he doubled over laughing hysterically. Maybe it was the closeness of the moment, or maybe it was the familiarity of everything, but even Theodore smiled a bit and, surprisingly enough, he actually laughed.

After a moment, Draco looked up and wiped his eyes. "Dear Merlin, look at that, Theodore Nott is showing emotion," he said, still smiling slightly. "I have to write to the papers. Though, unless I get evidence no one will ever believe me."

Theodore rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Get off it, Malfoy." His smile vanished as quickly as it had come. "Where's Darla," he asked as he leaned backed against the pillows.

"Asleep," Draco answered. He must have sense Theodore's concern because he quickly said, "the regular kind of sleep, I didn't drug her. She's staying with Astoria and my mother right now, so you don't have to worry."

As much as Theodore hated it, he was worrying. He couldn't help but worry. "Damn it, Malfoy," he grumbled. "You can't just kidnap my daughter." He kicked back the blankets, he stopped when he noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual wrinkled suit. Instead, he been changed into a pair of sleep pants and an oversized t-shirt. "Merlin, Malfoy, you've _got_ to be kidding me!" Not only had he been drugged by his best friend, but his clothes had been changed.

"Just be glad I'm not Blaise," Draco pointed out. "Now lay back down, you're going to be sick if you try and get up."

"No, you drugged me and you changed my clothes. I really don't think we can be friends anymore." Ignoring Draco, Theodore swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Instantly, his head started to swim and his stomach turned sour. He never thought he would think this, but Draco was right. Theodore clutched the bedside table to keep himself from falling over.

Draco jumped up and grabbed Theodore's arm and helped him back into the bed. "I warned you about standing up," he said, agitated. At times, it felt like talking to Theodore was like talking to a child.

"Yes, and I'm going to believe the man who drugged me and took off my clothes," Theodore snapped and leaned back against the pillows. "If I'm going to be stuck here all day can you at least bring me something to do?"

Draco rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "You could try, oh I don't know, sleeping?"

Theodore scoffed. Hadn't he been asleep for long enough? "I try not to sleep if I can help it," he informed Draco and crossed his arms. "I'm certain that there are several things I need to do, bring me at least four of those things."

"Fine, but you won't get anything done," Draco warned him before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Once again, Draco was right. By the time he returned with a mountain of books and parchment that may or may not have been useful, Theodore was asleep again. Draco smiled to himself. He was getting rather good at slipping things into Theodore's drinks.

Thunder boomed through the house and lightning illuminated the room, causing eerie shadows to crawl across the floor for a split second. Theodore sat hunched over his essay on poltergeists, so engrossed in what he was doing that he barely even seemed to notice the storm. If poltergeists were mainly just created by negative energy then why… "I've got it," he said, his eyes lighting up.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'eureka'…"

Theodore jumped and turned around. He had thought he was alone, the room had been very quiet. Then he spotted her, his ten year old daughter half hiding behind the bookcase. "Geez, Darla, how long have you been hiding back there?"

"Um…an hour," the ten year old guessed and bit her lip. "Um, are you busy?"

"Incredibly," Theodore said and looked back to his work. He expected Darla to take that answer and leave, but she didn't. For a moment he tried to write down his idea, but he could feel Darla staring at him from behind the shelf. "Can I help you with something?"

As though that was her cue, Darla crept out from behind the bookshelf and stood a little closer to Theodore. "There's thunder," she said and looked over his shoulder at his work. "Also, you misspelled 'preposterous'."

Theodore glanced down at his paper and sighed. Darla had outright been refusing to stay with her uncle lately and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to take care of her. "Yes, it is thundering," he said wondering what the point of that was.

"Scorpius told me that when it thundered it meant the dragon was angry! See, he said that there's this giant dragon that lives behind the clouds and he eats little girls and the thunder is when he's growling or his tummy is growling," Darla explained frantically.

Oh, this was a fear thing then. Theodore turned his chair around and sat his quill on his desk. Alright, he could handle this. Sure, how hard could it be? "Um…yes, and that Dragon will, erm, eat you unless you go to bed?" Yes, that sounded right enough.

Darla squeaked and covered her mouth. "Daddy, don't say that! What's wrong with you? You see a scared little girl and you think 'I'm going to scare her even worse?' Who does that? Bad people, that's who!"

Okay, that was obviously exactly the wrong thing to say. Darla was obviously hysterical, he just had to figure out how to deal with that. "Well, what's going to make you less afraid?" Theodore thought for a moment before he remembered something. "How about a story?"

Darla's eyes lit up and she nodded before climbing up into her father's lap.

Well, he had wanted to get a book, but he couldn't exactly move now. There was only one story he knew by heart. I love you when you're here, and I'm alone when you're far, because I'm your moon and you will always be my star. The planets in their lines, around they go, but lovely as they are you're the only one I want to know. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star. The sun burns in a ball of flame, but don't let it's fury melt you away. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star. No matter what it is we'll see it through, because whatever it is it's something we can do. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star. People will come and people will go, but I hope that you will always know: I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star. People's words will bruise and sting, I'm here for you for anything. Remember I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star. Let them think what they like because we know we're fine. I will always be right here by your side. I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star."

Darla's eyes were closed by the time that Theodore finished his story. He had her head pressed against his shoulder and seemed very close to sleep. It was amazing that she could hear that same story so many times and still listen to it. "What's that story about," she asked her voice muddled by sleep.

Theodore slipped his hand under her legs and stood up, making sure he was holding her tight enough. "I think it's about Pluto and Pluto's moon, Charon. See, they told Pluto that he wasn't big enough to be a real planet and it's Charon saying that even if they don't believe in Pluto, he does. Pluto may be a dwarf planet, but Charon is still his moon, regardless."

"But Pluto isn't a star," Darla pointed out and wrapped her arm around Theodore's neck.

"That's true…I don't know, dear. We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?"

Darla nodded slightly. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight in case the dragon comes back?"

What could he say? She was already about half asleep and she looked so relaxed I that moment. Theodore sighed and walked past Darla's room. "Alright, but just for tonight, okay?"

Darla didn't answer. By this point she was already asleep.

**Draco**

This had to be karma. It just had to be. He had done horrible things at one point, he had been a terrible person. This had to be payback for all of that. Was there something so wrong with him that he couldn't save anyone? How much repenting did he have left, or would he lose everything before he had the chance to make up for his past? It had started with his father dying. Maybe it had been all the stress from the war, but the man's body had just given out while Draco was training. He had planned to figure out a way to help him. To become a healer, the best healer, and then save him. But, he had been too late. Lucius had passed away before Draco could blink. That was when his mother's mind started to go. It was just little things. She would forget Draco's name or how to get to her bedroom. Draco wasn't sure if this was caused by his father's death or by Narcissa's drinking binges. Just when everything seemed to be settling down, his sister in law fell ill. It wasn't like she even had a chance. She had just had a daughter and was finally starting a normal family. She had Theodore, Theodore was happy, she had a daughter, she had practically the whole world at her feet. Then everything went wrong. She became sick. The disease had been hard on her, first affecting blood, then her kidneys and causing them to shut down and then affecting her brain. For three long years Draco had watched Daphne fall victim to this disorder. First it was unbearable. Daphne was in near constant pain, it was so severe that most of the time she couldn't even get out of bed. Then, during the last year, there wasn't as much pain. Not as much pain for Daphne, anyway. The potions they gave her to fight the disease not only didn't work, but it caused holes to appear in her brain. Slowly, Daphne forgot her favourite foods, then her anniversary, Blaise, Mars, then who her husband and daughter were, and finally she had forgotten who she was. It was one of the worst things that Draco ever had to witness.

Now it was his turn to suffer even more. His son, his only son, had been ripped away from his without a care. It was like a part of him had died. He could barely move from where he had been for the last several days. How could they take his son away? Didn't they have enough souls? Was there any way that they would ever stop taking away the people that he loved? Neither he nor Astoria had said much on the matter. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk to each other and comfort on another, but it felt too painful to speak. It was as though if Draco even opened his mouth his chest would burst into pieces. It hurt to breath, to move, to go about his daily life knowing everything that he lost. The lights seemed to be painfully bright, colours too violent, and noises unearthly loud. Walking seemed to take so much energy. It was a battle that he was never going to win, no matter how many times he tried.

Then, to top all of this off, Scorpius's body was hardly even cold before Draco lost someone else. He knew that Scorpius had been ill, why didn't he check on Darla before he left? That should have been obvious to him! Maybe whatever had taken Daphne was genetic and both of the children had inherited it? Of course, there were no warning signs…. He should have known! He was a healer! How did he not know what to do? To make matters worse, he hadn't even been to see his brother-in-law. Theodore was supposed to come to Saint Mungos once school started back, but they had both ignored that. Draco had been too busy dealing with his grief and Theodore…Oh Merlin! Draco didn't even know how Theodore was doing! He had send a sleeping draught, but he couldn't force himself to go see him. It would just be too much.

Draco leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Maybe if he could get some sleep then he would feel better. His mother used to say that sleep healed a person's mind. How long had it been since the last time he slept? Twenty-eight…maybe thirty hours? After thirty-two hours he would start to hallucinate. He didn't want that. He didn't want to hear the voices of everyone he had lost screaming in his ears and asking why he let them die. There was no excuse, no pardon, no nothing. Everyone was dead and he couldn't do anything to fix it. The question he found himself asking was: Why am I still alive?


	15. Chapter 15

**Darla**

Darla had managed to tie long strips of cloth from her and Scorpius's robes together to create a decently long rope. She had just been estimating the length, but it seemed like it might be long enough to go over the not-a-tree cage. Now, all she had to do was figure out how to get it up there. The cloth was too light to be able to be thrown, but Darla wasn't willing to give up just yet. No, she had to do this. She had to figure out how to save herself and her older cousin. She absolutely had to.

"Ugh," she muttered and looked up. "This would be much easier if there were a rock or something that I could tie to the end of the cloth."

Scorpius, who was still not quite on board with the plan, glanced around and shrugged. "Well, we seem to be suffering from a severe lack of rocks around here."

He may have been right, but he certainly wasn't being helpful. If anything, he was being very pessimistic about the whole situation. 'And maybe this is why I pushed you away, Mister Grumpy,' Darla thought but she didn't dare voice this. She was just barely on speaking terms with Scorpius, she didn't want to give him any reason to hate her anymore than he already did. "Momma smart," she thought aloud, "she would know what to—that's it," she exclaimed, causing Scorpius to jump.

"That's what? What's it?"

Not bothering to explain herself in the least, Darla pulled her locket off her neck. It had a decent weight to it and it wasn't so heavy that she wouldn't be able to throw it. "Sorry Momma," Darla whispered as she tied the chain to the cloth. It felt, in some ways, wrong to be using her mother's locket for this, but it was much better than being stuck in the cage forever. Besides, the locket had to be useful for something other than being pretty. Darla was just about to throw it when she remembered something. She had no skill whatsoever in anything that involved any kind of athletics. "Hey, Scorpius…you play Quidditch, right?"

"Yeah? So?"

Darla turned and held out the make-shift rope to him. "Maybe you can get this over the not-a-tree. I don't think…um, I have no skills at aim. You're, like, a…something that has to do with Quidditch, you should be good at this." Darla was more than willing to admit that she knew nothing about the sport, despite the number of times both James and her Uncle Draco had tried to explain it to her.

Scorpius got up off the ground and took the makeshift rope. "I'm a Chaser," he said and smiled as though he expected Darla to know what this meant. He took the locket in his hands and stared at the hole above him. He could do this, he had done almost the same thing plenty of times during practise. With one well aimed throw, Scorpius tossed the locket up and managed to get it to wrap around one of the upper branches of the not-a-tree. His pride was short live, however. He was just about to make a comment about how Quidditch did come in handy when something very unusual happened. The locket stayed in place for just a moment before it literally burned through the branch and fell hard on the ground. Scorpius's eyes widened and he looked up, then back down, then back up. "What the hell?!" He looked over to Darla for some explanation and was quite surprised to see her grinning like a fool.

"It's made of iron," she exclaimed sounding happier than Scorpius had ever heard her sound before.

"Um, that's wonderful, Darling…why did it burn the tree?"

Darla grinned and flapped her hands, unable to contain her excitement. "Okay, okay, I know this! Oh Merlin! I know exactly what's happened! Okay, okay, okay, so, it's like this, Fair Folk can do a lot of things and they have a really good immune system to, like, disease, and infection, and poison, right? Well, yeah, anyway, there's one thing that Fair Folk can't be around! Iron! Iron is, like, the natural enemy of Fair Folk. It's the one thing that can defeat them, it's toxic to them. I guess that it's the same thing with their world! It's, like, I don't even know!" She felt like jumping. Now they wouldn't have to climb up out of the cage, they could just destroy it with her mother's locket.

Scorpius stared at her and considered this for a moment. "Geez, Dolls, it would have been great if you had figured this out fifteen minutes ago before you destroyed a pair of my robes."

Sure, Scorpius was complaining, but Darla's eyes lit up. "You called me 'Dolls'," she noted, her grin growing wider. "You, uh, you haven't called me that in a while."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and suppressed a grin. "Well, you haven't given me a reason to. Now, c'mon, let's hurry up and figure out how we get out of here before this whole thing turns into one giant and annoying love fest."

Darla took the locket in her hands and went very carefully around the base of the not-a-tree. Smoke curled up and mixed with the increasing fog around them. Making sure she didn't touch any of the horrible limbs, Darla made a decent sized door. Well, it was less of a door and more of a small hole in the limbs that would be just big enough for Scorpius to crawl through. Darla slid her locket back around her neck and peered through the hole.

"Uh, ladies first," Scorpius said, obviously not wanting to be the first one to venture out into the unknown.

So much for Scorpius being her protector. Darla knelt down and crawled through the hole. The hard dirt scraped her knees and tore at her stockings, but she trekked on through until she was able to stand up again. Standing back up, Darla brushed herself off as best she could, but the red dirt seemed like it would never come off her knees. Scorpius followed through behind her. He was about halfway through when he let out a loud cry.

Darla whipped around and found her cousin was stuck, his neck had hit one of the limbs and the short thorns had dug into his skin. "Hold still," she advised before darting over to him. Great, there was really only one decent solution she could think of. Darla reached out and grabbed the branch, letting the thorns bury themselves into her hand, and pulled it off of Scorpius. Scorpius darted out and rubbed his bleeding neck as Darla pulled her hand off the branch.

"Oh, ow, that was stupid of me," she muttered and wrapped her hand up in her shirt. "Alright, ow."

Scorpius took a deep breath and looked down at Darla, wondering what he was supposed to do. "You alright?"

"I'll live. Anyway, now we need to figure out where we go from here. Any idea which direction we came from?"

"Uh, I wasn't exactly conscious when I was brought in here. So…I'm as lost as you are."

Darla looked around for any sign of where they should go. The forest was growing darker by the second and the strange noise seemed to be coming from the west. Well, she certainly didn't want to stumble on any strange creatures while she was injured and unarmed save for a locket. "Let's try this way," she suggested, pointing toward the east. It seemed like the sky over there was a bit brighter, though it was difficult to tell with all the trees.

It didn't matter if that was the right way or not, that was the way they were going. Neither of them really had any other ideas and this was their best chance to get out of this terrible place. So, they set off into the unknown, keeping close by each other's side.

**James**

Sure, James had been in the headmistress's office before, this really wasn't a new thing for him at all. However, today wasn't really a day when he wanted to be around her. He needed to be back in the common room, taking care of Lily, or in the library making sure Lysander was alright, or finding Albus and making sure that he hadn't gone totally crazy. He could even settle for being outside and playing Quidditch until he forgot all about this whole week and was just focusing on the win in his hair and the dun in his eyes. But no. No, he had to be up here because that's where he was told to be. James looked up at Professor McGonagall, vaguely remembering when Darla had named her 'The Gargoyle.'

"How are you, Mister Potter," she asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

James shrugged and looked down at his hands. "I'm fine," he said despite the fact that he was anything but. If he was going to be strong then he had to be strong around everyone.

Professor McGonagall let out a sigh and folded her hands on her desk. "Mister Potter, I'm certain that you aren't as fine as you claim to be."

"I am, I'm fine," James insisted. "I have to be fine, I have to take care of Lils and Al, I can't be anything other than fine."

"I see…" Another sigh escaped her lips, James was starting to hate those sighs. "Well, I've actually called you in here to discuss your brother, Albus. It seems that he hadn't been going to any of his classes and he's been missing at most of the evening meals."

Albus had been missing class? It took a moment for this to register with James. He had been busy making sure Lily was alright, he hadn't even taken the time to keep an eye on his little brother! James bent over and buried his face in his hands, taking deep breaths. "Oh Merlin," he moaned and closed his eyes. "I feel sick. I can't do anything right anymore!"

James hadn't expected Professor McGonagall to be comforting in the least, but it wasn't long before he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Mister Potter, I think that you want I both know that isn't true. Your brother isn't in a very good place right now, I can see how it would be difficult to console him."

"I-I need to find him."

"I think it would be best if you took some time to calm down first."

Why was it that people kept thinking that if he calmed down everything would be alright? James couldn't calm down, his brother was somewhere in the castle, probably alone and hungry and upset. James wiped his nose on his sleeve and stood up, pulling himself together. "Don't worry, Professor, I'll fix him," he said, as though Albus's grief was something that could be easily fixed.

Professor McGonagall looked at James over her glasses, James could see why Darla called her a gargoyle. "James," she said, the name sounding strange coming from her. "I know you want to take care of your brother, but I think you should take care of yourself too. Professor Longbottom said that you had a rough time when Miss Nott passed away, how've you been since then?"

James shook his head. "I can't think about that right now," he said simply. "I have other people to focus on."

"We're all worried, James."

"Well, be worried about Albus. He's younger than me and…and I'm his big brother so I have to take care of this," he yelled before turning and running out of her office. James almost tripped going down the spiral staircase, but he didn't stop running until he had made it almost to the kitchen. Pausing, James rested his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. He had to find Albus.

**Lysander**

No, Lysander thought calmly. Oh no, it simply couldn't be possibly. Not logically, anyway. See, Lysander knew the girl that everyone was saying died, she was his friend, and friends didn't simply disappear. It was a universal fact. Friends were a lot like trousers. You knew your trousers were there and they were always going to be in your drawer in the morning. If they were missing then you knew that someone had taken your trousers, and if your drawer was suddenly full of skirts then you knew that someone had messed with your trousers. They didn't simply disappear. Friends didn't simply die. It was all perfectly logical to Lysander and he didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of this simply ridiculous lie. Besides that, he had been expecting this. It was only a matter of time before whatever was pretending to be Darla died. Now that it had, Lysander had to figure out what it was and get the real Darla back.

Lysander was frustrated by the time he got to the library. This day was not going as he had planned. First he had heard the announcement at breakfast, and then he had to take Lorcan to the hospital wing. It was stupid that he had to do that in the first place. Lorcan wasn't injured, he had just started crying and Lysander couldn't make him stop. Then, James Potter had accidentally punched Lysander in the mouth. Admittedly, Lysander couldn't even be angry with James. It wasn't like James knew what was going on, he wasn't exactly the brightest Moon-bug in the ocean. Eventually, Lysander was going to have to explain to the poor boy what was actually happening in the world, but first he had to figure out what exactly was happening.

"Well, whatever was pretending to be Darla has died," he announced to Albus as he slumped down in his seat. Just as soon as he was seated, Buttons jumped up on his lap and mewed more pathetically than usual.

Albus looked up from the book he was absorbed in and blinked. "I'm terribly sorry," he said earnestly.

Lysander shrugged and opened up a book. "Its fine," he said but he somehow knew that wasn't true. Maybe, in the back of his mind, he had thought that it was just grief that was causing her to act the way she had been acting. Maybe he had thought that she would end up being normal Darla again. Now there was no chance for that and all he had were his theories. It left him with a strange gnawing in his gut that had him both frustrated and annoyed. "Albus?"

"Hmm, what?"

"What was it about Scorpius that made you know he wasn't Scorpius?" Doubt was starting to settle in Lysander's already uneasy mind. He had to know that he was right and that he wasn't just imagining things.

Albus shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "He-he was just different, alright?"

"Well, I'd like to make a list," Lysander explained. "It might be useful to mark the different changes between Scorpius and Darla, see what all matched up and what didn't. Did Scorpius suddenly gain the ability to tie his shoe laces?" It seemed logical to him, besides that would take his mind off his doubts.

Albus didn't seem to see the logic in it. He groaned and looked back to his books. "Look, I really don't want to talk about it right now, Scamander. I just want to figure out what has Scorpius and get him back, alright?"

With that, Albus went back to his book and ignored the fact that Lysander was still staring at him. Lysander entertained the idea that Albus had also been taken and replaced by a Not-Albus, but he knew that wasn't the case. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was positive that this Albus was definitely the Albus he had known before. Still feeling confused, Lysander looked back to his book. Researching with Darla was much more interesting than researching with Albus. Lysander wished that he was better at casual conversation, but he wasn't sure that would be enough. Albus didn't seem like the type to enjoy idle chatter.

The silence was broken about half an hour into their research. Albus jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking the table backward. "Ha! Aha! I've found something! Aha! I-I think this is it!"

Lysander looked up, though he wasn't terribly hopeful. There had been multiple times when he thought that he had found something but it had turned out to be nothing. "Alright, share."

Albus cleared his throat and held the book up close to his face. "_Children have been taken for centuries by Faeries to live in the world of the Fae," _he read. _"The children are kept prisoner there until such a time as they die. The Fae replace the children they take with creatures known as changelings. The changelings closely resemble the children they're meant to replace, however a person can notice subtle differences in size, shape, eye colour, speech patterns, abilities, fears, and social norms. The changelings often die within twenty-four to ninety-six hours. Changelings are often made out of bundles of sticks and, after several weeks, the body of the child will turn back into sticks. Children are taken for a number of reasons: because they're pretty and are kept as pets, high intelligence, or because they're afraid their secret will get out. _This is it Lysander! Scorpius and Darla both changed. Scorpius had different eyes and he…and you said that Darla could tie her shoes! This is it!"

Lysander's eyes grew wide and he pulled the book toward him. '_A Humanoid Fae is a faerie that looks like a human under sunlight, candle light, and firelight. There are several signs that point to a person being a Humanoid Fae. They change in the moonlight, they have an inability to lie, they're taller and thinner than most humans, they don't quite understand social norms. Humanoid faeries often appear very beautiful. _"Well, whoever took them would have to be close to us, right? I mean, like, they would work here. Oh, maybe it's Professor Longbottom! He knew both of them!"

Albus raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No, Ly, that's wrong. It's not him, I've known him for years."

Lysander paused and thought for a moment. Wait! He knew the answer to everything now! Finally, finally he had managed to make sense of everything! "Albus, Darla told me—"

"Albus!"

James had, quite rudely, invited himself over to the table and wrapped his arms around Albus. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you!"

Albus struggled for a moment and managed to squirm his way out of James's grip. "Okay, great, you win hide and seek! Anyway, Lysander and I are actually doing something important, aren't we, Ly?"

"We're killing a Professor," Lysander said cheerfully as though this matter had been discussed.

The Potters paused, turned, and stared at Lysander as though he had just gone insane. Lysander tilted his head and looked back at them, wondering why they didn't get it yet. "Lysander…no one is killing anyone," James said very slowly.

Lysander sighed and held up the book. "_To enter the realm of the Fae the blood of a faerie must be use. _Logic, everyone. If we're going to get our friends back then we have to get the blood of the faerie and then go into their realm and get them back. Are we all clear now?"

James looked down at Albus. Albus, at least, looked like he kind of understood. "So, um, what kind of crazy talk are we doing right now?"

"I'll fill you in later," Albus said, waving him off. "Ly, we're not even sure who it is yet or how to kill a faerie."

Lysander sighed. This was going to be much more difficult than he had originally planned. "Walk with me, I'll explain everything. James, prepare your mind for it is about to be blown."


	16. Chapter 16

**James**

This was ridiculous. As a general rule, James liked things that were ridiculous. Pranks were ridiculous, shenanigans were ridiculous, and Darla's cat was ridiculous. This, however, was beyond all of that and he couldn't process it. Lysander and Albus had both been talking incredibly energetically about people not being dead, about faeries and changelings. It all seemed like a ridiculous notion, but James couldn't even fathom how to go about correcting it. The only word he could think of for it was overwhelming. Yes, the whole situation was overwhelming to him and he was starting to feel a bit faint. His mind was, a Lysander had promised, blown.

"So, um, where are we going now?" he asked because that seemed to be the only rational question to ask.

"To see Professor Bane," Lysander told him very matter-of-fact. "If what Darla told me is correct then he's the only one who really knows what's going on."

Albus was carrying Buttons, holding the monster cat close to him like a safety blanket. "I know it seems crazy, but Scamander actually does know what he's talking about." Albus looked up, his eyes wide. "Even if you don't believe him, you believe me, right? I need you to believe me."

The question panged him slightly. He had to do this, he had to help Albus. He didn't know what it was, exactly, but he was sure that they had some plan. If not, he was certain that he could take the pair of them out before they actually managed to kill anyone. This seemed pointless, but maybe it would put Albus's mind at ease a bit. If it would help then he was willing to try it. "I believe you, Al," he finally said as they turned down a corridor.

Lysander stopped in front of the door to Professor Bane's office and calmly knocked on the door.

Silence.

He knocked again.

James could hear someone rustling around inside. "I'm very busy right now," came the small reply.

"Oh dear, I think I might have to lie." Lysander took a deep breath and knocked urgently. "Professor," he said in a hurried voice. "James Potter has accidently swallowed a Dragon Tailed Hornet, he's in need of immediate medical attention! This was the nearest office!"

Vaguely, James wondered what a 'Dragon Tailed Hornet' was and, more importantly, why he would have swallowed one. The lie seemed to work very well. Professor Bane opened the door and looked down at the three of them. His hair was a mess, his robes wrinkled, and his shirt clung to his chest with sweat. This was not the same Professor Bane that James had met four years ago.

Lysander slid with amazing skill into Professor Bane's office and blinked up at him. "I lied," he said simply and looked around at the packed boxes. "Ah, you're running away, very brave of you, Professor. Is it because you're caught and you know you're caught and you were caught by very young students?" He said all of this as though he was simply discussing the weather.

Professor Bane took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Scamander, right?"

"I don't see how my name is of any consequence."

This was a different Lysander Scamander than the one James had come to know. This was serious Lysander, this was Lysander on a mission. His eyes were narrowed and he looked ready to strangle someone if the situation called for it. Even though he was much smaller than James, James was a little worried that he might try and attack him!

Lysander took a breath and went on. "We know about your friend," he explained as he walked through the office. "We're not asking you for help, we don't even need your help really. We just want to know how to get there, how to get back, and what to do with him. In other words, how do we kill him and still get into his realm?"

Professor Bane opened his mouth to speak then closed it again, he did this several more times, occasionally he managed to make a few syllables. "I…don't um, what you're talking about," he choked out, leaving out several words.

Albus helped Professor Bane over to a chair, he seemed much calmer than Lysander. "We just want our friends back," Albus explained. "And you…you want to be free, don't you? I know about the conversation you and Amicussio had after Scorpius was taken. Please, just let us know."

For a few moments, Professor Bane was silent. He just stared at the boys as though he had never seen them before. Then, he inhaled sharply and looked down. "I have waited for years for someone to figure him out," he spoke freely now, no longer stumbling over his words. "But it can't happen, he can trick people. I almost had him once…and that's when he…he's powerful, boys." Bane looked up and looked between the three boys. "You would need something strong, something with iron…it just can't be done. Only his blood would open the realm…I-I don't know where it is."

Finally, James perked up. "The sword of Gryffindor," he said instantly. "It only takes in that which makes it stronger. It probably had iron in it already!"

Bane's eyes grew wide and his breathing grew shallow. "He's a faerie, boys, and you're young…there's so much left for you to do. You can't think you can take him down."

This was real, this was all really happening. James couldn't believe it! Darla and Scorpius were both alive and they could be saved. There would be no more tears, no more sadness, everything would be normal. Except…

"And we have to kill him," Lysander was saying. "It'll take some doing, but we could do it." He looked back at Albus and James. "It'll be alright, come on, we have a sword to get and a professor to get."

"I'm warning you," Bane called after them, "don't do this! You can't do this!"

James heard the warning, but he was having trouble thinking about anything other than the fact that Darla was alive…and that they would have to actually kill a professor! How could they do that?

Lysander walked between James and Albus, looking very serious. "We're going to need that sword. Any ideas?"

James knew where the sword of Gryffindor was, he had seen it before in his God Father's office. A smile came to his face as it all dawned on him.

"Guys, if we're getting that sword we're going to need three things: a prefect, head boy, or head girl, Freddie…and a whole bunch of fireworks."

James waited outside the common room with Freddie. Admittedly, Freddie still seemed a little bitter over the broken nose and he thought that James was about half crazy. James and Freddie had tried very hard to fill Freddie in on everything, though it was all a bit confusing and Freddie seemed more than a bit sceptical. Although, the idea of a new prank did perk him up a bit. He might not believe what was happening, but he was willing to help under the condition that James never broke his nose again. Of course, they accidentally on purpose left out the part where they were going to have to take out a professor. Neither James nor Lysander thought that Freddie could handle hearing that much without knowing that everything they said was true.

Right on time, Albus came trotting up the hallway with Mars Zabini, trying desperately to explain the situation. Mars had his eyebrows raised and was shaking his head, looking exhausted and exasperated.

"Look, kids," Mars said once he got to where James stood. "You know that you're all completely insane, right?"

Albus sighed and ran his hand back through his hair. "Yeah, but you want Scorpius back, right?"

"No. It's been really quiet without him."

"Darla?"

Mars paused and awkwardly shifted his weight. "No, the family needs her back," he finally said and looked away for a moment. James wasn't entirely sure what that was about, but he wasn't going to question the way a Slytherin's brain worked. "You're sure that she was kidnapped, it all sounds so…strange."

James rolled his eyes. "We go to a school for magic, my dad fought dragons, Merlin, a platypus is an actual animal! Do we really need to list all the things in this world that are strange?"

"Fair point," Mars agreed and nodded. "Fine, I'll do it…but not for any of you and not for Scorpius, got it? I don't like any of you. I'm doing this for—"

"Then you certainly can't be in the Excellent Best Friends Club for People Who Get Along Quite Well," Lysander said as he appeared behind Mars. "We're called EBFCPWGAQW for short."

James just rolled his eyes and continued on. "All you need to do is tell Professor Longbottom that we left while we sneak into his office, then you're done."

Mars shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "You left out one important detail. I'm coming with you."

"No," Freddie said. "I agreed to this, but not with him!"

"Then no deal."

James looked between them, trying to figure out what to say.

Albus stepped forward. "Mars, you can come along if it's that important to you, we just need to hurry!"

"I don't want him to," Freddie whined.

"I'm coming," Mars growled. "I lost my mother four years ago and we all lost Darla and Scorpius once. If I can do it then I'm going to. I don't like losing people." He paused and thought for a moment. "Besides, it's killing both our parents."

Everyone, including Freddie, fell silent. "Your…mum," James said quietly.

Mars closed his eyes and stepped away. "Get in your positions, alright? We need to blow this mother down and get that sword."

"Mars—"

"Go!"

James wasn't going to argue anymore. Albus and Lysander hurried off with the fireworks while James and Freddie hid in the opposite corridor. James was listening for his cue to move in, but his mind was working overtime. He was spending a lot more time thinking about things these days than he ever had in the past. He remembered seeing Darla in Diagon Alley. Her father had said that her mother had died four years ago…Mars lost his mother four years ago. Mars was insisting on saving Darla. Maybe it was just one big coincidence, but James couldn't be sure.

His thoughts were interrupted by several loud _bangs_. He wanted to run out instantly, but he waited until he heard Professor Longbottom come running out and hurry down the opposite corridor with Mars.

"Now," he said to Freddie and they slipped out of hiding. James knew he wouldn't have much time. Merlin, if this actually worked he would be amazed.

The first part went well, now they had to get into the office. James smiled as he found the door partially opened. Apparently, Professor Longbottom hadn't seen the dangers of leaving his office open. Quickly, James slipped in while Freddie watched the door. Alright, sword! Like always, it was hanging above the desk, gleaming like new. James reached up, grabbed it, and hurried out. He couldn't remember ever running so fast in his life, despite the danger of running with a very sharp object. It was exhilarating and he felt more alive than he had in weeks. He and Freddie made it almost to the kitchens before hiding behind a suit of armour and catching their breath.

"I can't believe we just did that," Freddie panted. "That was amazing!"

James turned the sword over in his hands. It didn't feel like he thought it would. He had heard about it from his father. His father had told him that the sword felt like an extension to his own arm. It didn't feel that way at all. It just felt like a powerful hunk of metal that he was holding for someone else. "Let's find the others," James suggested, feeling uneasy about everything now. He wasn't sure why, but he felt sick to his stomach. Like he was homesick, but worse.

**Mars**

What was he _doing?!_ Was he seriously helping James Potter, the most irritating boy he had ever met, Freddie Weasley, a close second, Albus Potter, a snivelling idiot, and Lysander Scamander, the single most insane person in the entire school?! And for what? For a girl he hardly knew anymore. A girl that he had forgotten about until five months before, a girl that he wasn't even emotionally attached to. No, that wasn't true. There was some connection there, something that he couldn't just ignore. As he walked with Professor Longbottom he went over his options. He could easily back out now and forget the whole thing. He could double cross them all. But, no, a part of him knew that he could never do that. She just looked so much like Daphne…if there was a chance that she was still alive then that was one he was going to have to take. Darla didn't know, she didn't need to know. Mars was certain that it would make things harder on her if she did know. His father had told him not to let anything on, although Blaise might as well have spelled it out for her! Still, it was a secret. It was his secret, his and his father, Theodore, and his mother. But then, his mother had taken that secret to her grave, hadn't she?

"Well, here are the fireworks," Mars grumbled and looked around. Good, Potter and Scamander had made a quick escape. "I swear, I saw them running this way, Professor."

Professor Longbottom sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Those boys are excellent at getting away. Don't worry, I'll talk to them soon." He paused and looked Mars over.

_Oh Merlin! He knows something's up!_

"What were you doing up here anyway, Mister Zabini?"

Uh oh. Mars struggled to find something, his eyes darted around quickly before they landed on Buttons. He vaguely remembered seeing Albus with the monster, he must have gotten loose. "Oh, there you are," he said quickly before scooping the cat into his arms. Buttons hissed and dug his claws into Mars's arms. "Heh, I heard Buttons and thought…um, I don't know. He doesn't have an owner anymore, I thought I might ask Dad if I could keep him?"

Professor Longbottom considered this for a moment. "I see…well, I hope you take good care of him. She did love that cat."

Mars forced a smile as the cat clawed at him. "Don't worry, I will," he said and turned away. "Well, I'll just take him with me, good luck with Potter and the lot!" He needed to get away fast before he let anything slip! "Darla had better still be alive," he growled at Buttons once they were out of earshot. "I am _not_ going to be stuck with you forever!"

He quickly caught up with the others who were huddled in a small alcove, waiting just where they said they would be. "Everyone okay?"

James held up the sword and looked Mars over once. "We're good, Zabini. And your end?"

"He suspects nothing."

Buttons jumped down and ran to hide in Lysander's lap. Mars was not in the least bit sorry to see that creature go.

"I think we should get some truth serum," Mars suggested and took a seat by the window. "Amicussio isn't going to be easy, and even though he can't lie the serum will make him want to talk. We can't just kill him and hope—"

"Kill him," Freddie repeated. "No one said anything about killing! This is what happens when you bring Slytherins into the mix. Always with the killing!"

"Freddie, it wasn't his idea," James said, trying to be rational. "We're not killing him exactly, we're just—"

"You knew about this? I'm not doing this, James! I'm not killing anyone. How can you all just stand around and talk about murder like it's no big deal? I'm not killing anyone!"

Mars turned and stared at Freddie, his eyes glinting. "What are you going to do, Weasley? Are you planning on running and snitching on us all? You're already too far into this, you can't back out now."

"But…killing? That seems a bit overdramatic, don't you think?"

"Can't we just, ya know, stab him or something?" James suggested.

Mars looked to Lysander, that boy seemed to have all the answers. "I suppose we could try…although, Mars is right, we will need a truth serum to get him to want to talk to us. He's not going to want to give up any of his secrets."

"I can get it," Albus said instantly. "Professor Bane has a closet full of completed potions in his classroom that he uses for demonstrations. Since he's heading out of town he shouldn't need them and it won't take me very long at all."

Mars was actually surprised. For a bunch of kids they actually seemed pretty well organised. It was really awe inspiring. Hell, he couldn't plan all this and he was older than any of them.

"Good," Lysander said and nodded. "And since Mars is the eldest he can easily disarm Professor Amicussio and, you know, do the technical things. I have some questions I'd like to ask."

"I never agreed to that."

Lysander looked up at him, his blue eyes wider than usual and looking far too big for his face. "You did when you became a member of the Excellent Best Friends Club for People Who Get Along Quite Well."

Oh great, there was his stupid little club again. Mars wondered if the kid was going to try to get t-shirts. "Alright, Potter—"

"What," James looked up, looking quite a bit like a lost puppy.

"The other Potter." Mars couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You go get the Veritaserum, we'll wait here. We don't want to be caught lurking outside of Amicussio's door, it'll look suspicious, and take Weasley with you. We don't want you running into any trouble."

Albus nodded. "C'mon, Freddie."

Freddie didn't look happy about any of this, but he groaned and stared walking. "Just be aware that I think this whole plan is crazy and I don't want to kill anyone except for you guys."

Well, Freddie might not have like it, but he was going along with it. Mars wasn't sure about any of this really, it all seemed a bit insane to him to be honest. Faeries and kidnapped children and teachers being threatened for years. Then again, the more he thought about it the more sense it did make. In his time at Hogwarts there were two children who died for a curious illness, but they were so far apart that no one had really connected them. Maybe they weren't connected, but neither of them seemed to show any symptoms, not that Mars had studied them extensively. Still, the only thing on his mind was Darla and Scorpius. Well, less Scorpius, really. He wasn't losing his sister a second time.

_A/N: I was honestly a bit afraid to upload this chapter, I was a bit nervous about how the whole Blaise/Daphne/Darla/Mars thing was going to look written down. I've had this planned since prior to the Christmas chapter (note the need for Blaise and that little conversation there), and I was honestly afraid that people would hate me for it. Then I thought that people would hate me even more if I didn't upload something so…yes, there's that. Um, that's the end of my little ramble._


	17. Chapter 17

**Darla**

The scene didn't change too much as they walked through Faerie. In some places things seemed almost normal. There were trees, though some of them were a little too vibrant a green and some of them had over exaggerated fall colours. There were holes in the ground that let out smoke in a variety of colours, smoke that would take the shape of spiders and scurry up the air to build nests of smoke in the trees. Darla nearly tripped over a rock that opened it dozens of green eyes to stare at her and mumbled something about how people never said excuse me anymore, though Darla was certain that it didn't have a mouth. While Darla was walking around, looking at everything in absolute horror, Scorpius had his eyes blocking his peripheral vision and was staring straight forward.

A small grey mouse darted out from behind a burning bush and Darla watched it scurry across their path, noticing something was very wrong with it. "Scorp, is that mouse two-dimensional?" Darla didn't even know how something could be two-dimensional.

Scorpius shrugged, he had gone very pale. "I don't know, Darla, I don't want to know. I just want out."

Darla tilted her head and looked at the mouse, there was a small red door on its side. "I think that mouse has a door on it."

"A door…" Scorpius paused and groaned. "God, a door-mouse? A Dormouse? Not only are we stuck here but we're being subjected to bad puns!"

"Be glad there's not a book worm here too," Darla pointed out, though she didn't think it would be very unlikely to see a book that was also a worm here.

Scorpius didn't seem to fin anything about this funny. Not that he should have, it was a very poor attempt at humour. "Can your special magic locket not find us a way out of here?"

Darla sighed and kept walking. It was pointless for her to try to explain that iron could only harm things in Faerie and it couldn't actually help them find anything. For that, they would need a map. Darla wasn't going to trust any kind of map they found here.

Everything about this place was just wrong and Darla was quite ready to leave. If she got out of here alive then she planned to be a much better person. She would leave her father alone, pay attention in charms, hell, she might even learn to fly. All she wanted was to get out alive.

"You alright, Scorpius?"

Scorpius gave a dry laugh. "I'm stuck in a bizarre place, with my little cousin, and I think I might die here. At what point am I supposed to be alright?"

"Good point…." Darla didn't even say that they weren't going to die. That was wishful thinking, and Scorpius would just argue that there was no proof that they were going to survive. Still, she could tell that he thought they were going to have a chance. If he didn't then he would keep moving. So, Darla just kept to herself for now and kept going. "Scorpius, have you ever heard the Moon story?"

Scorpius chanced a glance over at her and raised an eyebrow. "The Moon story? What the hell is that?"

"It's a story about the Moon. Well, not really about the moon…it's a book that daddy used to read me. Would you like to hear it?"

Scoffing, Scorpius put his hands back on his face to block out as much of Faerie as he could. "I think I'm a bit too old for bedtime stories, Dolls," he told her.

Darla felt a bit dejected. The Moon story was something that always comforted her and she thought that maybe it would give Scorpius some comfort too. It was strange, but Darla really wished that Theodore was there. Maybe he would know what was going on, he was smart. Sure, sometimes he wasn't the best father, but he did know things. He would have been able to get them out of this. Darla gripped her locked and took a deep breath. If she got out of this, she was going to be a better daughter, she was sure of that.

They stumbled out into a forest and into something that was, in many ways, more terrifying. Looking around, Darla realised that the forest was no longer behind them. It was as though they really had fallen down the rabbit hole. Darla realised that everything seemed to have been made by someone who had never seen a city before and had only had one briefly described to them by a man who had once seen a blurry picture of Southside London. Everything seemed to be slightly tilted to the side and all the buildings, though solid to the touch, looked like they were made out of charcoal. In some of the buildings it seemed that someone had substituted boards for windows or had duct-tapped glass over the holes. When she looked up she didn't see the sky, instead she saw something that looked like a painting of a sky done by a two year old. The colours were too bright, the clouds too thin and unmoving, and he was certain that he could see a smiling face in the too-yellow sun. Where were they?

They both stopped and Scorpius lowered his hands again and glanced around, his eyes wide. "Dolls?"

"Yeah…?" Darla stared around the thing that might have been a city. Calling it a city really didn't seem right, it was in no way a city. It was…it was something.

"Tell me about the moon now…."

This was a request that Darla was happy to oblige.

**Albus**

Sometimes things just go according to plan, thus far this was one of those times. Everything was working out, Therefore, Albus was worried. Nothing ever went right or according to plan in his dad's stories. It was going far too well, something had to be wrong. They had to have missed something. They had the potion, they had the sword, they had a plan. Something had to be horribly wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. He tried to voice his opinion, but it didn't work.

"Mum always said that Al was a worrier," James said. "He just can't believe anything is going to work out. It's like if it's raining then it's a hurricane to him."

Albus disagreed with this. It wasn't that he was worried, he thought he was just thinking logically. Plans never worked in all the great stories he had read. His father hadn't really made plans, he had just acted and gone with whatever seemed to work at the time. When he did make plans something happened and they went wrong. All Albus wanted to know was where they had gone wrong, because it had to be somewhere. It was driving him insane. They were standing outside of Professor Amicussio's classroom, going over the plan, and Albus could find nothing wrong with it! It was ridiculous! They were a bunch of kids, how could they come up with a functioning plan.

Mars had gone into Professor Amicussio's classroom, armed with his wand and the plan. Albus waited outside with Freddie, James, and Lysander. Waiting was almost physically painful. He paced around the hallway, waiting for Mars to strike. If this actually worked out then Albus was going to be amazed.

""What are you all doing standing in the corridor like this?"

Albus's head snapped up and he knew, instantly, that this was the flaw in the plan. They had prepared for teachers and for Mars to fail, but they hadn't expected for Lily to show up. She stood there with Lorcan, her lips pursed looking for too much like Albus's mother for him to be comfortable.

"Oh, Lils," James said and gave a nervous laugh. "We're planning a…surprise…party. Yeah, a surprise party."

"No we're not," Lysander said and raised an eyebrow. "We're tying up Professor Amicussio and getting him to tell us where the entrance to Faerie is."

James laughed again and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, Lysander, he's crazy, isn't he and…oh, what's that?"

Lorcan was holding out a stack of parchment, glaring at his brother. "We know what you're up to," he said very accusingly.

Lysander took the parchment and smiled. "Oh, yes, these are my notes. I can tell because I wrote them and there's the doodle of a Dragon Tailed Hornet. Mm, yes. Oh, what are you doing with my notes, brother? Did you wish to help?"

This was too much. It was already bad enough that Mars and Freddie had been pulled into this, but Lorcan and Lily really didn't need to be! A hero team was supposed to consist of three people, a trio, that's how the stories went! Frankly put, Albus was frustrated. "We're not doing anything, now shove off," he growled and chanced a glance at Lysander. Lysander didn't seem to understand that this was a good time to start lying.

There was a loud crashing noise from inside the classroom, someone behind the door swore, and then silence fell. The six of them looked at each other, as though trying to decide if they should check on Mars or leave him. The door to Professor Amicussio's classroom opened and Mars poked his head out, looking quite proud of himself.

"Got it, man I'm good. All those times I had to keep my dad from—what are these two doing here?" he said and looked down at Lily and Lorcan.

"Seriously, why are you even here," Albus snapped. "We're busy, alright? Why don't you—"

Lily had stepped forward and, without warning, slapped Albus across the face. "Don't get all high and mighty on me, Albus Severus! Tell us what you're up to or I'm telling mum!"

Albus rubbed his cheek. Damn, for being so small, Lily could hit pretty hard. "Look, we don't have time for this! If you two could just guard the door then…just guard the door, alright?"

"No! I want to know what's going on!"

"Lysander," Lorcan said and stepped forward. "Will you tell us what's going on if we guard the door?"

Lysander tilted his head and smiled. "I would tell you even if you didn't guard the door. I don't see why the door needs guarding in the first place, what do you expect it to do? Run off? I highly doubt that, it's a very secure door. I've never even seen the door move."

"We'll tell you everything," James promised. "But, wait here, got it?"

Lily looked over to Lorcan before nodding, though she didn't look like she liked this idea too much. Albus couldn't blame her, really. Hadn't Darla been Lily's friend or something? Albus knew that he would hate it if he were to be left on the outside.

Mars motioned for them to come inside before disappearing back into the classroom. Well, it was now or never, right? Albus took a deep breath and went in with the others, unsure what he was supposed to except.

**Lysander**

Why everyone was being so secretive was beyond Lysander. Honestly, he thought that it was better if more people knew about what was going on. The more people who believed him the better, the less people who thought he was crazy the better. Lorcan knew, and Lysander knew that he knew and Lysander knew why he knew. It wasn't like Lysander was stupid, he knew that his brother had been watching him. His brother had been in the library, watching him and seeing what he was up to. It wasn't that Lorcan wanted the gossip, Lysander knew that. His brother was worried and Lysander couldn't blame him for that. After all, Lysander hadn't exactly been around much lately since he started having long hang outs with Albus Potter. He felt bad, though, to leave his brother out of everything. That was why he left his notes in the dormitory. He knew that Lorcan would find them and bring them back to him, demanding to know what he was up to. But, he knew something else. His brother would believe him, he was sure of it. Lorcan knew he wasn't crazy, and that made it all worth it. Lysander smiled, quite happy with himself, as he walked into the classroom.

Everything seemed like it was perfect, Lysander thought. Professor Amicussio was wrapped in ropes, but he wasn't struggling. If anything, he actually looked quite bored with the situation. He was propped up against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, congratulations on you're work in Charms, Mister Zabini," he said in a lazy drawl. "Now, if you would be so kind as to untie me."

Albus laughed. "Not until you tell us where out friends are."

"Well, I believe you have your friends all around you," he said and smiled.

"Scorpius! Scorpius Malfoy! Where is he?" Albus was getting angry, Lysander was certain that it would take long before he snapped. Of course, he should have known that Professor Amicussio wouldn't answer them.

"Isn't he dead? It's very tragic, but this is no way to deal with grief. I should really call the headmistress, but I understand you're all very upset by the recent events. We can all walk away from this, if you would like."

It was James's turn to get angry. He leaned over Professor Amicussio, his necklace hanging out of his shirt. Lysander recognized it instantly as being the one that Darla had gotten James for Christmas, Lysander had always been rather fond of it. "Look, we know what you are. Well, Lysander knows what you are. I'm just here to get my friend back."

Professor Amicussio winced and moved away from James just a little, just enough for Lysander to notice. Lysander stayed quiet and watched. Professor Amicussio was sweating slightly, very slightly, but Lysander could see it.

"Mister Potter, step back," Professor Amicussio demanded.

For a moment, it looked like James really was going to step back. Lysander wasn't going to have that, not while they were so close! "James! Bend down a little lower," he said, his eyes focused on Professor Amicussio. He might be right, this was his test. He just had to know.

James nodded and leaned down. "Now tell me—"

The necklace touched the naked flesh on Professor Amicussio's neck. He screamed, loud and shrill, and recoiled toward the wall. The area on his neck was smoking slightly and the skin was burned away. Lysander grinned and clapped his hands.

"It's iron," he explained. "Iron is one thing that Faeries can't be around! It hurts them and ruins their glamour!"

"Fair Folk," Professor Amicussio said, somehow managing to regain his composure. "We are still in polite society, are we not? It's rude to call someone a Faerie."

The iron had ruined his glamour, not that he had much to begin with. Lysander was expecting his, but the others weren't, that much was obvious by their awed expressions. Professor Amicussio had grown a good foot and a half, his hair had gotten longer and seemed to be made from leaves, and his skin had turned a very pale shade of blue. Lysander stepped forward and looked at Albus.

"Ask your questions now, Faeries can tell no lies," he said and closed his eyes. This was what he had expected, but he couldn't explain why he felt so…strange. He knew he should have been happy, but he just felt slightly sick.

Albus nodded and cleared his throat. "Why did you take Scorpius?"

"I suppose there's no point in hiding the truth now, is there," Professor Amicussio mused and smiled. "I will tell you what became of your friend. It is Scorpius that you wish to know about, correct?"

Albus nodded, he was shaking. Lysander watched him closely, thinking that the boy looked ready to break. "Yes," he said, his voice going soft. "Why did you take him and where?"

Professor Amicussio laughed, tilting his head back. It was a horrible high pitched laugh, it sounded like multiple people laughing at once in the same shrill pitch. "Why did I take Scorpius? Simple, he was a pretty boy, wasn't he? He's make an excellent pet for us. Naturally, I took him to Faerie. Just beyond the mushrooms."

"And Darla," James demanded. It looked like it was taking quite a bit of strength for him not to leap out and punch Professor Amicussio.

The laughter died away and Professor Amicussio looked up, seeming quite serious. "I didn't want to take the girl, not yet anyway, not until she had honed in on her gift."

Mars looked up. "What gift?"

"I said I would tell you about what became of your 'friend' as in one of your friends, and you chose the boy, did you not?" He looked over to Albus. "Remember, I do not lie. I merely deceive."

Unlike James, Mars was a little more angry and didn't feel like he needed to contain it as much. He grabbed James's necklace and pressed it against Professor Amicussio's forward. "What gift," he demanded.

Professor Amicussio recoiled and screamed, his voice like a banshee's. Albus was the one who pulled Mars off. "Dude, knock it off!"

Mars glared down at Albus before throwing the necklace away. Lysander could understand why Mars was acting the way he was, though he wasn't sure if anyone else really knew. "What gift," he asked again.

"She Listens," he finally said, his voice dry and harsh.

"We can all listen!"

Professor Amicussio chuckled, though his forehead was still smoking. "No, you can hear and understand, which is very normal and what all. Not her. She Listens and understand and remembers. She's able to hear past what I'm saying and hear what I mean, she got me to confess without the use of such barbaric tools. What does that tell you about your friend?" He turned now to direct his attention to Mars. "You're so protective, but how much do you really know about her? How much do any of you know? Do you even know anything about yourselves?" He was staring intently at Lysander now, as though challenging him.

Everyone fell silent and it occurred then to Lysander that he really didn't know very much about Darla at all. He didn't know her favourite colour or any of her past. All he knew was the girl that he had come to like over the course of the year. He didn't know much about anyone, really. Did he know himself? He couldn't help but think that Professor Amicussio was trying to tell him something. Maybe he didn't know Darla and maybe he didn't know himself, but he did know something about Professor Amicussio, and that was why he was telling them this.

"He's distracting—"

It was too late, Lysander was too late. The ropes fell and Professor Amicussio stood up, towering over them all. He smiled and brushed the ash off his jacket.

"Well, this has been fun, kids. But, it's time for me to get home. I do have to collect my prizes, you know. Now, if you really want to find me, follow the mushrooms, we could always use additional pets and servants in Faerie. Really, you're welcome at anytime."

There was a small _pop_, James swung the sword just as Professor Amicussio disappeared.

"Damn it!" James threw the sword down, it clanged against the stone and fell uselessly to his side. "Damn it! We lost him! What the hell was that?!"

Lysander knelt down while everyone else panicked. He flipped the sword over and smiled. "No, we didn't lose anything." He held the sword up, a small stream of red glittered along the sword's edge. "My friends, we have the upper hand. Are we prepared for this?"


	18. Chapter 18

**James**

The insanity was only getting worse. Not only had they just assaulted a teacher, but they had let him escape. Lysander apparently had a plan, but James wasn't sure if any of this was worth anything. He had managed to explain things to Lily as easily as he could, but this wasn't something had could be summed up in a few minutes. Faeries and kidnapping and fake deaths….they weren't the type of thing that people were going to understand. Lily, however, listened for once without interrupting. James wondered if maybe it was because she wanted to believe with all her heart that her friend wasn't dead, or maybe it was just that Lily could understand it. James didn't know, but Lily seemed to accept his explanation without too many questions. It was a bit surprising. Then again, what was there to ask? He was sure that there were a million questions going through her mind, but he didn't know if he could answer them. Besides that, James had some questions of his own that he needed answered, and he planned on doing that soon. He just, well, he didn't know how to go about asking.

It had been nearly an hour since they had actually seen Professor Amicussio and asked him their questions. They had to pause and explain everything as quickly as they could to Lorcan and Lily. The whole time Lysander had complained about how they were wasting time. Now, they were all following Lysander across the grounds and he seemed to know where he was going. James wasn't going to question it. He was trusting Lysander. Thus far, the boy hadn't let him down and everything Lysander had said had turned out to be right.

"I just can't believe they're both still alive," Lily said, more to herself than to James.

James was thoroughly prepared to do the big brother thing, he was ready to honestly say that everything would be okay, because it seemed to him that things would be alright. But, he didn't have the chance. Much to his surprise, it was Lorcan who stepped over to Lily.

"My brother is insane," he said, bluntly. "I know he's crazy, and that's okay. This time he's actually not doing something that's insane. I checked his notes with the books, he's brilliant when it comes to researching things. I guess he gets it from my father."

Lily smiled and brushed back her hair. "I know he is, and I do believe him. Maybe it's because I really want him to be right and maybe it's because he is right, I don't know. I just wish he could have seen Professor Amicussio disappear like they said he did. I mean, that's a little strange, isn't it? You can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds."

Lysander was walking ahead of them, leading them through the moonlit grounds. "He's not a wizard," Lysander told him without looking back. "It's like how House Elves can apparate. He uses a different kind of magic, I'm surprised no once noticed before."

Come to think of it, James had never actually seen Professor Amicussio use a wand. Even when he was talking about defensive spells he would ask for someone to try and demonstrate it. How could no one have noticed? More importantly, why was it that Lysander was the one to see all these things?

James slowed down to give Mars time to catch up to him. He had several questions and he wanted them answered before they went to wherever it was they were going. "Hey, Mars," he said, lowering his voice dramatically. "Back there, in the castle, you said something and I wanted to ask you about it."

"Oh, usually a minister. Once a shop keeper….and then there was the incident with the guy at the haberdashery."

James blinked. "We're…talking about two completely different something's here…" There were some things in this world that James just didn't want to know about, and this was probably one of them.

Mars looked up. "Oh, good because I really didn't want to get into this with you right now."

That was probably for the best. "Yeah, um, anyone…all that aside now. I was just thinking about what you said, about Darla and your mother. You said that your mum died four years ago?"

"Yeah? What of it? A lot of people have dead parents, James. Your dad had two dead parents, that's all of them. I don't see the point of this."

While that was true, James didn't see how that had any bearing on what he was saying right now. "It's just…well, Darla's mother died four years ago too."

"So?"

"Well, I just thought."

Mars looked up and shook his head. "Yeah, she's my sister. Well, my half sister, but, whatever. It's not really a big deal, I'm just not supposed to tell her that."

"Why not?" James thought that Darla having an older brother would definitely be a good thing. He had known her for almost a year and he knew that she needed someone to look out for her. After all, from what he had seen and heard, her father wasn't exactly the best kind of person and wasn't too good at doing the looking out for thing. An older brother might have made things easier for her.

Mars stopped and stared at James. "Think about it like this: you've lived your whole life thinking that your mother only loved your father. You have this perfect image of what your mother is like because you don't know what things were like before she was there. And then someone comes along and ruins that. Someone who remembers tells you that your mother wasn't as perfect as you thought and that she was married before. And not only was she married, but she had a kid, another kid. How would that make you feel? To have everything you know be a lie? I think it's more than she could handle."

Mars was right, James thought. Darla's whole world would come shattering down around her if she knew. Everything she had thought would turn out to be wrong. No one deserved that. No one should ever have their hero's ruined for them, ever. "Mars…"

"Conversation over."

"Mars?"

"Words, I'm saying them, and those words are that this conversation is over and done with. I won't tell her and neither will you, got it?"

James nodded. He wished that things weren't like this. He wished that he could just tell Darla and maybe things would work out.

They were just outside the Forbidden Forest when Lysander stopped. There were several red and white mushrooms that led to a circle. A fairly large complete and perfect circle of mushrooms, untouched by weather or animals. It was almost too perfect, and then James realised that this had been what Professor Amicussio had been talking about. These were the mushrooms, the entrance too Faerie. This would be the last time that they would be able to turn back and go home. Thus far, no one was moving.

"Alright, we're here," Lysander said. "James, the sword, please."

James had hardly even noticed that he was carrying the Sword of Gryffindor. He stepped forward, into the circle, and handed the sword off.

Lysander took the sword in his hands and took a deep breath. "We're about to leave the world as you know it. What we see beyond this ring may be meant to frighten you or confuse you. I can't say which. If you want to turn back, do it now. Otherwise, come into the circle and we'll go save our friends."

For a moment, no one moved. Then, Albus stepped forward and into the ring. Mars immediately followed him. James took Lily by the hand and the two of them walk in together. It didn't feel any different in the ring. James had been expecting something, maybe the low buzz of magic of something. But it didn't feel like anything.

"Freddie," Lysander said. "I'm about to open the circle, are you coming or staying?"

For a moment, Freddie hesitated. He looked back at the castle and then at his friends. Slowly, he nodded and stepped into the ring. "This is insane," he mumbled.

"People often say that I am insane, that should tell you something about insanity," Lysander said with a smile. "Now then…"

Taking the sword in both hands, Lysander plunged it into the ground. The entire circle turned a shade a red, the same colour as the blood that had been gleaming on the sword. The mushrooms seemed to dissolve and the air around them turned dark and cold. Then, there was a flash of red light and the world vanished.

The fell to the ground, landing with a dull thud. The world was, as Lysander had said, gone. It was replaced with something that James couldn't accurately explain. Nothing made sense and everything was completely wrong. They might have been in a forest, but it might have also been a classroom. There was a large tree completely covered in jingling bells that had been painted a bright shade a blue. A wheel with wings was flutter around, carrying a gagged lolly pop in its spokes. A large tree was made completely out of a chalk board and was in the shape of a key. James blinked and took a deep breath. The air smelled of stale water and tasted like, well, the only way James could describe it was that it tasted like pink. The moon in the sky was far too large and the sun was directly beside it. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be day or night anymore.

Freddie stood up, rubbing his head. "Where the hell are we?"

Lysander looked around, not at all put off by the strange things around them. In fact, he looked a bit impressed by everything. He had been researching, maybe he had expected something like this. "Welcome to Faerie. Don't touch anything, it may bite," he warned them.

Mars got up off the ground and dusted himself off. "Merlin, it looks like my dad exploded everywhere and got to decorate. Look at this, it a mouse it a steeple on its back! It's a church mouse. My dad would have a field day here!"

"There's a worm made completely out of book pages…." Lily muttered and gripped James's hand. "How do we get out of here?"

Lysander shook his head and smiled. "We find the key, of course. There's always a key to getting out of places like this. Trust me when I say that I do know what I'm doing." He cleared his throat. "Now then, should we go and find our friends? I'm certain that you don't want to be here any longer than we absolutely must."

Lysander was right about that. Everyone was uneasy here. This wasn't there world and they didn't belong here. Well, maybe Lysander did, but that was only because he seemed to understand what was happening. The sooner they got out of here, James thought, the better. They all made a silent agreement to move as quickly as they could.

**Mars**

There were a lot of things that Mars knew he could never un-see, and this place was one of them. He had seen a lot of things that he wished he hadn't and there were a lot of things that he didn't understand about this place. There was a fence along one path that was made completely out of wilted roses, something that Lysander had quickly warned them not to touch. Mars had to constantly remind himself that he was doing this for a good reason. It would make his dad feel better and he didn't want to lose the only real connection he had to his mother. They past by a tree covered in roses that had a small winged dog perched in its branches. Mars shook his head and kept his eyes focused on the ground, not that that helped. There were wooden worms crawling in and out of the dirt. Then, suddenly, the dirt changed. Everything changed. The moon was gone and replaced with a very strange looking sun. The ground became chalky grey and looked like a sidewalk.

"They're there," Lorcan said, pointing to a leaning building that was strangely shaped like the number two.

Mars moved forward and his mouth fell open. Scorpius was sitting on the ground and Darla was standing, but that wasn't what he was looking at. There was a woman standing in front of Darla, her hand stretched out. Mars had to move, he had to get a better look. It just…it just couldn't be true. He needed to see her better.

Lysander raised his eyebrow. "Who is that woman? Why would Darla talk to anyone here? She should know better!"

But Mars knew exactly why Darla was talking to the person. He knew that he would have talked to the woman too if he had been in her situation. Moving to the front of the group, Mars got a good look at the woman. "Her eyes are brown," he said, disdainfully.

"So," James snapped. "I don't think her eyes matter!"

"But they do," Mars said. He took off running, ignoring the others yelling at him. The woman's eyes were brown at that was a problem for him. Because _her_ eyes weren't brown.

**Darla**

"That has got to be the worst story I've ever heard in my life," Scorpius said and put his head between his knees.

The two of them had sat down on the concrete, or on what might have been concrete. In this place, it was really hard to know what anything actually was. They had only been sitting for a few minutes, but Darla had told Scorpius the Moon story from memory, hoping it would comfort him somehow. It hadn't seemed to have had the desired effect. Maybe it was all pointless. How would comforting Scorpius do anything for anyone? It wasn't like there was any way to get out of this terrible place, and Darla was beginning to understand that. It was hopeless. She leaned over and put her head between her knees.

They were going to die here, she just knew it. Every ounce of hope she had was gone. What was the pointing in confronting Professor Amicussio? Why did she work so hard to get out of the tree-cage? Where did she think that they were going to go? Maybe if she hadn't been so head strong and she hadn't thought that she could handle a full grown faerie on her own then none of this would have happened. She should have waited for Lysander. There were a lot of things that she should have done.

She should have been kinder to her father. Darla wasn't sure why she was thinking about this, but she was. Her father was at home now and she wondered if he had heard that she was 'dead' yet. Surely not, she hadn't been in here that long, had she? It didn't feel very long. It felt like she had only been here for maybe an hour. But, she knew that time travelled differently here. Did her father even acknowledge that she was gone? He didn't notice when she was there, why would he noticed that she was gone?

"Darla?"

A woman's voice broke through the air and Darla looked up. She hadn't even thought about anyone else being here. The woman standing a little ways away from her was someone Darla recognized instantly. Her dark hair tumbled down over her shoulders, contrasting with her white dress. Her body wasn't destroyed by disease and her eyes shown brightly. She smiled, it was a soft and gentle smile.

Darla stood up, her whole body quivering. "Ma-mama," she said slowly, her voice cracking. How long had it been since she had seen her mother? Too long, that was for sure. Was it possible, she wondered, for her mother to be alive? Could she have been taken by the Fae as well? Perhaps. After all, her mother wasn't in her right mind towards the end. Darla wanted to believe this, and so she did. She believed this more than she had believed anything in her entire life.

Daphne held out her hand. "Darla, come to me, my dear. Take my hand."

Shaking, Darla walked forward, her eyes locked with her mother's. She wanted to go with her. She wanted to go anywhere with her. This was all she had wanted for years. This was the moment she had longed for. To have her mother say her name again, just to hear her voice echoing in her ears. It hurt, physically. Darla's chest and throat burned and tears slid down her cheeks. This was magical and too good too be true. And usually when things seemed too good too be true, they were. Darla reached out her hand, ready to grab her mother and hold her close.

Just before she touched her, the woman fell over. Darla blinked. "Wha-what? Mars! Get off my mother!"

Mars had tacked Daphne to the ground. He had his hands on her shoulders to keep her from escaping. "This isn't your mother," he growled. "She had green eyes, like me-…she had green eyes, not brown!"

Darla vaguely remembered Blaise saying something about Daphne being Mars's God-Mother, but she was still angry that Mars would remember something so simple. Something that she hadn't remembered. She wouldn't believe it, she just wouldn't! She couldn't have her mother taken from her again. Not when she was so close. "That's a lie! She knew my name."

The woman laughed, a cold and cruel laugh quite unlike Daphne's. "Stupid girl. A lot of things know your name." It was no longer a woman speaking, nor was it a man. The thing sounded like more than one person was speaking. As though it was talking for several people.

"Who are you," Scorpius asked. He stood up, his fist shaking at his side. Tears were brimming in his eyes and he looked at the thing.

"Lysander stepped forward, he held a sword in his hands and locked eyes with the thing. "It is no one and It is everyone. It's old and It's feared. It has no name. It is just that, It is It. Anyone who knew It's name could control It. So, It's name has been forgotten. Just as It would have it."

It laughed and threw Mars off It as though he were no more than a pesky flea. He landed in a crumpled heap a fair distance away. "You are wise to be so young and so small. Tell me now, child, what is it that they call you? What is your name?"

"My name is Myself," Lysander said without flinching.

Again, It laughed. "I see. Myself it is. Now then, Myself, listen to me. I purpose a trade here."

"We're listening," James said.

"No!" Lysander looked back and shook his head. "No, don't! You don't know what you're doing! Let me handle this!"

"You seem to think a lot of yourself, Myself. There may very well be a place for you among our courts. I think that you would make a fine…pet, of sorts. You are quite lovely. Now, I do believe that you are here to get these two here, correct?"

Lysander tightened his grip on the sword. "We wouldn't be here otherwise, would we?"

It nodded and smiled, showing off a set of sharp teeth. It still had Daphne's form, but It now looked dark somehow. "I would like to trade you for them. It is a very simple deal, very clear cut. Do you accept?"

For a moment, Lysander looked between Scorpius and Darla. Then, she sighed and stepped forward. "Say it, then. Say what you want exactly and I shall accept your deal."

"No!" Darla screamed and moved forward.

"Darla, stay where you are! One person for two is more than fair!"

It smiled a wicked smile. "That is true. Very well, child, I accept your terms and shall follow through. I shall trade these two in exchange for Myself."

Lysander smirked. "Deal," he said before It could realise what It had said.

It's smile fell. "No," is whispered. "No! You tricked me! How could something like you possibly trick _me!_ It is impossible!"

"Little known fact, I'm kind of an underappreciated genius," Lysander said. "Darla, boy, come quickly!"

"No!" It reached out and grabbed Darla by the arm. It's hands were ice cold and felt like water on her skin, and yet It's touch still burned her skin. "I will not be tricked."

Then, Albus stepped forward and did something no one expected. It was possible that even he didn't expect it to happen. He tore the sword from Lysander's hands and lunged forward, swinging the sword and slicing through It's wrist. The sword fell from his hands, the whole thing smoking. Darla wasn't sure which was worse, Albus's scream of pain or the screams of hundreds coming from It.

Lysander ran forward and pushed Darla and Scorpius toward the others and grabbed the sword off the ground.

Now free from It, Darla ran forward and into James's arms. He picked her up and held her close.

"Darla! I never thought I'd—"

"Now really isn't the time, James! Run!"

"But Al killed It."

Albus ran past them alongside Scorpius. "I only pissed It off!"

Indeed, It was getting back up. It no longer looked like Daphne. Nor did It look like anything else. It's face was completely white and voice of a mouth, eyes, or anything else. It's whole body was like that with nothing to distinguish It from being male or female.

"Bloody Hell, Al! What'd you do that for?"

James was running now, but there was one problem. "Wait! Where's Mars?" Darla yelled, her voice almost drowned out by It's screams.

James just kept running. "I don't really care right now, Darla!"

Darla was read to jump away from James at this point. Mars had saved her, he had been the one to take the first step and knock It away. Even when It was pretending to be her mother. She wasn't just going to leave him behind now. After all, she was a Gryffindor now, and she couldn't just leave someone behind. But, it was Albus who stopped and turned around.

Dust flew up around them as James skidded to a halt. "Al, Don't!" Obviously he cared about Albus a bit more than he cared about Mars.

Albus was already heading back with Mars in tow. It was an awkward run because he was supporting the older boy, half helping him run and half dragging him behind. It looked like Mars's leg might have been broken, but now really wasn't the time to stop and inspect it. "I got him, keep going!"

That was when it occurred to Darla that she had no idea where they were running to, only what they were running from. Lysander was leading them, followed closely by Lorcan. Freddie was carrying Lily on his back and she had her face buried in his shirt.

"Where're we going?"

"Just follow me," Lysander instructed. He was panting and keeping a tight grip on the sword.

Darla could hear It screaming and It was far behind them. The injury may have slowed It down, but it was still angry and ready to kill. It must have been using that anger to numb the pain. Or maybe Faeries just weren't as susceptible to pain as human.

Lysander stopped suddenly in front of a large grey stone. There was a hold in the centre of the stone, not a very large stone. Darla didn't know what the point of this was. The stone wasn't big enough to climb on or hide behind, but it was still too large to throw.

"This is it," Lysander said. "Is everyone here? Sound off: Lysander!"

"We're all here and we so don't have time for this, Scamander," Mars said in a pained voice. "Just do it already!"

After looking around to make sure that they were all there, Lysander plunged the sword into the hole on the stone. A brilliant bright yellow light shined out of it, nearly blinding them all. Lysander shielded his eyes from the light. "Go! Everyone go!"

Darla didn't even have time to enjoy the pun. The last thing she remembered was James running into the warm yellow light. All the pain in her body vanished and she wasn't even tired anyone. It was brilliant and warm and it just felt safe. Then, everything went black.


	19. Chapter 19

Les- Everything was very quiet, almost frighteningly so. Darla didn't open her eyes, but she moved her arm slightly, just to make sure she still could. Everything felt ridiculously heavy. It was like someone had beaten her senseless. Her arm slid out from under a blanket and she gripped the edge. She had just had the strangest dream. It had something to do with faeries and bad puns, but she couldn't quite remember it. Everything was fuzzy.

"Vitals seem alright, hmm, seems stable now. Are you waking up?"

That familiar voice made Darla stir and it took her a moment to place it. As soon as she did, Darla opened her eyes. The light burned, making her squint. Slowly, everything came into focus, but she was still seeing everything blurry. It reminded her of the time that she had put her father's glasses on. "Uncle Draco?" Darla was surprised by how hoarse and weak her voice sounded.

Her uncle stared down at her and smiled slightly. "There you are."

Darla wanted to sit up and wrap her arms around her uncle, but she didn't really feel like moving much. "Scorpius," she said instantly. Everything came back to her, hitting her hard. "Is everyone alright? James and Albus were there, and so were Lorcan and Lysander, and Scorp, and—"

"Woah, slow down, Darla," Draco said and raised his hand. "Your friends are alright. A bit bruised and Blaise's, uh, son had a broken leg. But, everyone is as alive as can be. Scorpius is still a bit out of it. My opinion is that the longer you spend in, uh, I think your friends said it was called Faerie. Anyway, the longer you spend there the worse your condition gets."

Of course. Faerie was a completely different world, their bodies weren't accustomed to it. That made sense. Darla remembered how heavy the air had felt when she was there and how the sun and the moon were always fighting each other for control over the sky. "Why are you here?" They had other healers, didn't they? In fact, they had a resident healer.

Draco smiled and shrugged. "Well, when you find out that your only son and your niece aren't dead then you're going to go to them, aren't you? Besides, no one has ever seen anything like this. I think they wanted a professional opinion."

"What about Daddy?" Darla had about a million questions and she could only hope that her uncle could answer all of them. They would have time for it, wouldn't they?

Draco's smile fell. "Well, he's not answering any of my letters and I haven't had the chance this week to see him. He's been kind of out of it for the last two months."

Two months? She had only been in Faerie for a couple of hours before Lysander and the rest of them found her. "How could it have been that long?" Maybe it was just that her father was always a bit depressed. She had been back at school for about two months, maybe he really had missed her.

"Okay, you need to get up to speed here. Now, if I'm correct here, you were in Faerie for about a month and a half—"

"It was only a couple of hours!"

"Interesting," Draco said and furrowed his brow. He scribbled something down on a chart before looking back to her. "Moving along, yes, for month and a half days you were, for all intents and purposes, dead. And you've been out of it for a week. So, almost two months."

Two months…how much had she missed in that time? Darla leaned into the pillow and groaned. Even though she had been asleep for so long she felt exhausted. "Where is everyone," she asked finally. She didn't want to know anymore about Faerie or her father. All she wanted was to see the people who had saved her.

Again, Draco smiled. "Well, there's one boy waiting outside to see you and there's another one who keeps coming up and asking if you've recovered from the, uh, I believe he called it a fizzy attack on the brain and body."

Lysander, Darla thought and smiled slightly. Only Lysander could come up with something like that. "Can I see them?"

Draco furrowed his brow again and peaked out the curtain. "Alright. But, if anyone asks, they snuck in. Got it?"

"Got it," Darla agreed.

"I need to check on Scorpius again. I kind of want to be there when he wakes up."

That made sense, although it also made Darla a bit sad. Scorpius got to see his father when he first opened his eyes, but where was her father? She could see him in her mind; sitting up at his desk and working hard on something that he thought would change his life and the world. She could still see her mother's face in her mind. Was this how her father had felt after he had brought her mother back? They had both seen her and hadn't been able to stay with her. She would have to talk to him about that later. That is, if she saw him soon enough.

The curtain beside her bed was drawn open and James stood there, grinning. "You look awful," James said, somehow managing to sound very endearing. He grinned and wrapped his arms around Darla.

Darla blinked and clung to James. She knew that there was no reason for her to cry, but she was. They were happy tears. The last time she had seen him she thought that they were going to die. Her entire body ached, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that James was alive.

James smiled and pulled back, his hands on Darla's shoulders. He had a small scar above his eyebrow and his nose was slightly crooked now, it looked like it had been broken.

"Where is everyone," she finally asked.

"Well, Scorpius is somewhere over there, sill sleeping so he's not very interesting. Albus is with him…I don't think he's moved since we got back. Lorcan and Lily have both been talking to the professors, trying to get the work everyone missed." James gestured to a stack of books and parchment by Darla's bed. "I tried to tell them that people in the Hospital Wing don't want to think about homework."

At least homework was normal, Darla thought.

"Freddie is sleeping, as per usual. I have no idea where Zabini is, he's off doing some Slytherin things, I don't know. And, Lysander thinks that I don't know that he's sleeping in the corridor."

"I know that you know, but you don't know that I'm not sleeping."

Darla perked up even more upon hearing the familiar misty voice. Lysander looked mostly unharmed. There were no scars visible and he didn't seem to have broken anything. He looked happy, slightly bored perhaps, but happy.

"Lysander!" she squeal and let go of James. "Lysander, you did it! You did everything."

Lysander shrugged his shoulders and smiled slightly. "Well, that's because I knew what to expect. I can't wait to tell mother about this. She'll be so excited that I've discovered a whole new world. She thought I died! All our parents thought we died! She and I can spend the summer studying these creatures and maybe we can find a way to comprise with them without trickery. I feel terrible about tricking that poor creature."

Poor creature? Hadn't that thing tried to kill them? It was all due to the fact that Lysander was both a genius and impossible to deal with that had saved them. "Lysander, I owe you big time. You saved my life."

"Oh, no, it's not me. It was all Mars, really. The saving thing, I mean. I just used words to get us nearly killed. Mars was the one that kept you from going with the Lady." Lysander smiled as though he knew something that the rest of them didn't.

Darla had nearly forgotten about that. Mars had saved her, and that had nearly gotten him killed. She owed everyone a lot. Lysander and everyone had gone to Faerie for her and Scorpius. There was no way to thank them for that. Darla wiped her eyes and smiled. "You're all incredibly brave."

"So are you," Lysander pointed out. "Stupid, perhaps, but brave. I suppose that's what it means to be a Gryffindor, though."

"Yeah, seriously. Promise you'll never try to take on a full grown Faerie again and we'll be cool," James said, grinning.

Darla could agree to that much. She didn't have any plans to try and fight anymore adults or anymore faeries ever again in her lifetime. Once was enough. "How is everyone? I mean, Scorp and I have obviously been out of it, but what about everyone else? James, you look a little broken. I mean your face…I mean, ugh! You know what I mean!"

"Well there was a, uh, a keystone involved," James said, twitching a bit. "It was this stone thing with a key on it."

Lysander sighed and shook his head, looking as if he was very tired of having to explain this. "There are several ways in and out of Faerie. We got in through a mushroom patch, basically the most common entrance. To get out you have to find something that seems to work as a doorway or a key to the other-side. This can be any number of things. Say, a set of steps covered in locks, like a lockstep or something of that sort. The first thing I happened to see was the keystone. You just put a little Fae blood into it, think very hard on where you want to be, and then you're there."

Darla blinked and shook her head. Maybe all the new information was too much for her. It was starting to make her head spin. "And everyone is alright then?" That certainly hadn't answered her question.

"Well," James started, "Mars had two broken ribs and one of his legs was broken, but he's alright now. The rest of up got a little bruised landing back in the real world. Apparently, Lysander hadn't exactly planned how we were supposed to land."

"I planned everything perfectly. You just didn't know how to land. It was as though you never learned to fall out of a tree before!"

"I wasn't expecting us to fall out of an actual tree!"

"It was a tree-trek," Lysander explained and rolled his eyes. "Listen, I think that the point of this is that we're all here now and therefore there is no reason for you to be complaining." Lysander paused and glanced over at Darla. "James, I would like very much to speak to my friend alone for a few minutes. Now is when you should leave."

James stared at Lysander for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't…that can't…no?"

Lysander crossed his arms and sighed. "This is researcher things, James. It's nothing you would be interested in, I promise. We're going to be talking about all the fabulous puns and—"

"I'm out," James said instantly. "No more puns, ever. If I hear one more pun I think I'll die. And I'll die hard." He leaned down and brushed Darla's hair from her face. "I'll be back, it's dinner time anyway. Back in a few, okay?"

Darla nodded and laid back on her pillow.

Lysander sat down on the edge of her bed once James had left. He looked down and sighed. "I don't know what we're going to do," he admitted. "I don't want to tell the others, because they're all, well…they're all very simple. They're happy because we're alive. But, we did very terrible things."

"Lysander, everyone was simply amazing. You guys…you beat the Faeries! Now we're all here and we're all alive." Everything seemed perfect to her, and maybe that was the problem. Everything was perfect, too perfect. Something had to have gone wrong somewhere.

Lysander shook his head. "No, I fear we may have messed up. Yes, for now we're all here and we're all alive, but you have no idea what all we've started. If it was as simple as getting Professor Amicussio to leave then I know that Professor Bane would have done that long ago. What we've done in Faerie has started something. We injured the Queen. Two things could happen here. Either they'll forget about this because it doesn't seem like fun, or they'll think that it would be fun to get some kind of revenge. Since we're less than a century old, I think that they'll be back after us."

Darla's head was spinning. After everything that had happened how could this not be over? They had all gone to Faerie, they had battled what was apparently the Queen, they had escaped. And that wasn't enough? Now it seemed that they didn't just have one Faerie to worry about, but a whole world of them. How were they supposed to deal with that?

"I talked to Professor Bane—oh, yes, I can understand why you could look at me like I'm crazy, but just listen for a moment because I'm certainly the sanest person around. I talked to him and he's very worried. Professor Amicussio is still alive and we're going to have to be on our guard, especially next year." Lysander bit the sleeve of his robe and closed his eyes. "I think that they want us, you and I especially."

Hadn't they taken Scorpius first? Darla had assumed that the reason she had been taken was because she had discovered the truth, but once she started to think about it she remembered something. "Professor Amicussio, before he took me he said something. He said that he had hoped that it would wait until later, when I was older."

Lysander nodded and chewed on his sleeve for another few minutes. "Yes, he said you Listened. He told us there was a gift you needed to hone… And when he said this he stared at me." The boy swallowed and looked up, staring blankly at the wall. "And I could feel him looking at me. No, that's not the right word at all. I don't think that there is a word for it, really. I suppose I could say that he was seeing into me and it felt, for just a moment, like I could see his next move. No, not see it so much as feel it."

The two children sat in silence for a few moments, both of them wondering the same things. What was this gift and what was it that Lysander had felt? Could it have just been a trick? Faeries couldn't lie, but they could mislead and cause people to think things that weren't true. Still, Darla remembered when she was alone in the room with Professor Amicussio. She had been able to get a clear answer from him, she had been able to get the real truth out of him and discover what he truly was. Lysander had seen it too, only a little later. He had led a group of people from different houses into a world that shouldn't have existed. It just didn't make sense and the more Darla thought about it the more her head hurt.

"We're not safe," Lysander finally said. "None of us. No one who went into Faerie and no one here is safe, I fear. Unless I'm very much mistaken, and I rarely ever am, someone is trying to kill us."

"I'll kill her! Where is she?"

Darla and Lysander both jumped and looked up. The voice was forceful and very familiar.

The curtain flew open and a very familiar person stood there, partially restrained by Draco. "You. Could. Have. Died." Blaise panted. "Your father has been a wreck, and absolute wreck, and here I get a letter saying that all you've been doing is running around some bizarre world full of jokes that not even I like? If I don't kill you then your father certainly will!"

"I don't even know what he's doing here," Draco said apologetically. "I don't even know how he got in here!"

"My son wrote to me and I came in through the fireplace like any sane person would at a time like this," Blaise explained. "And I…where's Theodore?! He should be here right now! He should be here yesterday! He should be here always! Where is that stupid man?!"

Lysander looked up, the worry masked on his face by his giddy grin. "Hello, Mister Zabini. I regret to be the one to inform you that now is a terrible time to be threatening anyone with death. Also, please leave. We're having a conversation." He somehow managed to sound polite while he said this.

Blaise looked over at Lysander and shook his head. He obviously wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that. "As I was saying…Draco, where's Dork? I didn't see him, I didn't hear him. Shouldn't he be here, like, yesterday? I would have been here yesterday if not for the fact that you told me not to come."

"And yet here you are," Draco drawled.

"Yes, here I are...am…here I am." Blaise shook his head, frustrated. "Mars! Did you write to Theodore too?"

"I barely even know him," Mars said.

Darla hadn't even noticed the boy. He had been behind Blaise, mostly hidden by everyone else. He looked tense and was staring intently at his father, his jaw ridged.

There were too many people beside her bed. It was like the worst party ever was happening around her. Darla only wished that she looked a little bit better. She was covered in sleep sweat and her hair was terribly tangled. This was the worst thing ever. "Someone needs to leave," Darla finally said. She was exhausted by everything. It wasn't that she didn't want to see everyone, because she did and she was happy that her Not-Uncle was there. But, right then, all she really wanted was for everything to be calm and relaxed.

Blaise pulled out of Draco gripped and crossed his arms. "I'm going to go drag Dork here right now and you can't stop me," he said to Draco. "Darla, don't get kidnapped again, alright? At least wait until I get back and I'll kidnap you," he said before turning and heading toward the door.

"You will do nothing of the sort," Draco exclaimed and took off after him. "Blaise, get back here and promise me that you won't kidnap children!"

"La-la-la, I can't hear you," Blaise sang as the two men headed out.

Once again, things were quiet. Granted, Darla was a little worried about her father not that Blaise was going to get him. It was likely that Blaise would, quite literally, drag him here. Not that Darla was complaining. Her father was really the person that she wanted to see anyway. Darla laid back down, aware of how much her head was spinning and pounding. As soon as Draco got back she planned on asking him for something to make that stop.

"Sorry about my dad," Mars said, awkwardly. "He's, uh, he's been like that. And by that I mean that he's been like that for as long as I've known him, which is my whole life."

Darla smiled. She hadn't forgotten what Mars had done for her and she wanted to thank him, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. It felt strange, considering she did feel like she barely knew him. At the same time, she knew that he had known her mother, which made her feel slightly connected to him.

Lysander stood up, his eyes bright. "Oh, I think I smell a roast downstairs. Roast is my favourite of all meats, in case you ever needed to know, which I'm certain you will. Darla, I shall return at some point, once I've had enough roast to make me quite satisfied." He said happily. Then he paused and looked at her. "Brace yourself, for I am about to hug you."

That certainly wasn't the way anyone had ever told Darla they were going to hug her. In fact, normally they didn't say anything. The hug wasn't really something that Darla needed to brace herself for. In fact, it barely counted at a hug. It was mostly just Lysander putting his hands on her shoulders and tapping her lightly.

"Now, to the roast," he said and skipped, actually skipped, out of the Hospital wing.

Once more, everything was quiet. But it wasn't the comforting and relaxing silence that Darla had hoped for. Instead it was awkward and strange and neither Darla nor Mars quite seemed to know what to say. Mars cleared his throat, unsure if he should leave or not and Darla stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what words to use.

Finally, Darla just couldn't take the cold silence for another painful second. "You were right," she said and fiddled with the gold chain around her neck. "Her eyes were green, bright green. I forgot…but you remembered."

Mars shifted uncomfortable and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, well, whatever, it's not a big deal. I remember weird things sometimes. Like, I remember when my father went through his 'muggle phase' and wore tye-dye denim. Granted, I think that was because it was scarring."

Darla smiled slightly and looked up at him. "No, I mean…I'm trying to say thank you."

"Well don't."

"Well I am," Darla argued. "For everything, I mean. I didn't really get a chance to talk to you much this year, but you really…I mean to say that you helped me some. Like, when Scorpius had my wand—"

"I was doing my job!"

"Okay, well, what about when I was going to be a Gryffindor? You made me feel alright about that. Like, when you said that it was the most Slytherin thing to do because it showed that I really was ambitious. And then in Faerie you saved me again from going with that…that thing." Darla shut her eyes tight. Every time she thought about it she felt a little more ill. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

For a moment, Mars was quiet. He rubbed his neck, fiddling with his necklace for a moment. "Well, you probably would have gotten out anyway. That Scamander kid is pretty smart. He would have known something was up."

"But it wasn't him, it was you…and that means something." Darla wasn't sure what it meant, but it was something. "Uncle Blaise said that she was your God-Mother, so she must have been pretty special… My mother, I mean."

Mars flinched slightly and took a deep breath. "It's been a while since she was around. Obviously, I guess. But, yeah, she was a pretty awesome woman."

Although Darla had to share her mother now with her father, her not-uncle, and Mars, she was alright. It didn't bother her so much now to share something important. "Hey," Darla said suddenly, perking up. "It almost makes us, like, related kind of, you know. Momma was with you and Uncle Blaise, taking care of you for him, and then she met daddy and had me. It's like you're…a cousin or something."

Mars blinked and stared at Darla as though this was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "You're more insane than Scamander," he said and rolled his eyes. "But, I guess, that's kind of true, sort of. I mean, we did both have her for a while."

"Yeah. You could be like my older cousin, like Scorpius."

"Yeah, but good."

"Oh, he's alright now." Darla wasn't sure if she wanted to admit that she was the villain in that little tale. "It's complicated, but he's not terrible now. But you could be my older cousin and we could be friends."

"Again, I claim that you're insane," he told her, though Darla could see his lips twitching as though he was trying to suppress a smile. "I should get out of here before I either get caught or you say something else wacky."

Maybe it was insane, but Darla did like Mars. He had been there for her in the common room when no one else was on her side and he had been the one to nearly kill himself taking down the Faerie Queen. Maybe he didn't know it, but Darla really was thankful that he was there. "I'm the wacky one? I'm not the one who came in here yelling and then ran out. You're father is the wacky one."

"Maybe he's your cousin then."

Darla laughed and rested back on the pillow. She felt alright now. Maybe there were faeries after he and maybe everything was still wrong and, yes, her father wasn't there. But, despite all that, she was happy. She had friends that cared about her and she was alive. "Alright, go one, get. I'm tired now."

Mars rolled his eyes again and smiled. "Glad you're alive, kid," he mumbled.

"You too."

Finally, everything was actually quiet and all Darla could hear was Scorpius breathing. She wondered if he would still like her once he woke up. They had mostly made up in Faerie, but Darla wondered if he really did forgive her for pushing him away. He had seemed forgiving at the time, almost like he was actually happy to have her back. Still, Darla worried about it. She hadn't realized that she had been so horrible to him and she wished that he had told her this earlier. Maybe if he had then she could have fixed it sooner. She wasn't sure if she had actually caused a deep wound or if this was something she would be able to fix. If she could share her mother with three other people then surely she could share her with Scorpius too. Knowing that she could do that made Darla feel a bit better, well enough to get some needed sleep.

**Theodore**

Theodore stood by Blaise in the corridor, unsure why he was even there. He had things to do, he was certain of that much. Well, he had to find things to do anyway, anything to keep him busy, anything to keep his mind off everything. "Blaise," he whined like a small child. "I need to get back to work, I'm certain that you need the same thing. Don't you have…I don't even know what it is that you do, but don't you need to be doing it?"

Blaise was grinning like he hadn't in months. It seemed inappropriate to smile, even now. Surely it hadn't been that long since the children had… "Just wait here a minute, Theo, trust me when I say that you'll thank me later."

There had been times back in school when Blaise had said those exact words and Theodore had never felt the need to thank him later. Usually it ended with them in detention or being hexed or possibly both. Sighing loudly, Theodore leaned against the wall to rest his leg a little bit, it was aching more and more these days. Perhaps it had atrophied from lack of use. At least before everything happened he would have to move away from his desk at some point. He sat his cane down by him. What could possibly be so important that Blaise would drag him away from his books to stand in a school that Theodore had never had any intention of returning to? More than likely, it was something stupid that Theodore wanted absolutely no part of. With Blaise it was always something stupid.

The door in front of them opened. It had been so long since Theodore had been here that he didn't even know what room he was near. Nor did he know if he was actually supposed to be there or not. He had asked Blaise, but Blaise had told him that sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. That wasn't very promising at all.

Draco walked out, his hands in his robe pockets. "Oh, there you are. You might not respond to owls, but I see that you'll respond well enough to Blaise dragging you here."

Theodore blinked. "What are you doing here? Did you get a demotion and now you have to work in a school?"

Draco simply laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It seemed they just needed a few more healers here and, well, I had good reason for being here. And so do you. Come on, get inside."

There was something very strange going on here and Theodore wasn't sure that he wanted to be a part of it. Relying heavily on his cane, he walked into the room. Instantly, he recognized it as being the Hospital Wing. He remembered spending a bit of time here. Mostly, he brought Draco or Blaise up there whenever they did something stupid. He didn't want to deal with the humiliation of being injured. And that had turned out so well for him and his leg.

He looked past Draco, trying to see whatever it was they had planned. Instantly his jaw dropped, his cane fell from his hand, and he was almost certain that his heart had just stopped. He blinked, took his glasses off, blinked again, wiped his gasses off on his shirt, and put them back on. Everything was clear but his brain wasn't willing to process it all. It all seemed impossible...it was too unreal. Surely this had to be a hallucination. He remembered the number of times he thought he had seem Daphne after she had died, was this like those times? "D-Darla," he whispered, his voice catching in his throat.

Darla laid in her bed, a very slight smile on her pale face. She had lost weight that much was certain, and her dark hair hung limp around her. But her eyes, her dark brown eyes, shined with a sort of childish wonder. "Daddy?"

For the first time in a very long time Theodore forgot about his leg. He forgot about the pain and he took a step forward, his cane lying helpless on the floor. The pain was there, shooting up his calves and winding its way around his knee, but he was too focused on what was in front of him to pay it much mind. He held his breath as he walked forward. One step, then two, and he stopped counting as he walked. Finally, he collapsed to his knees in front of the bed and put his hands first on Darla's shoulders, then ran his hand gently across her jaw line. "It's you, you're real," he whispered before pulling her toward him, wrapping her up in his arms and just holding her for a few minutes. He didn't want to let her go, ever. All he wanted was to stay wrapped up in this moment and never move. A part of him was expecting to wake up, to wake up and realize that all of this was some potion induced dream and that Darla was still, in fact, dead.

"How," he finally choked out.

Darla looked up and shook her head. "Later," she promised him. "I'll tell you later, I promise. Don't worry right now, you're always so worried."

Later…of course, they would have time later. How was it that his daughter, his eleven year old daughter, had somehow become the adult again? No, he promised himself, if this is real then we can't go on like this. I'm the adult, I have to be the adult now. Theodore took a deep breath and managed to stand up, the pain in his leg retuning. He groaned and leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath. "Blaise, cane," he said and held his hand out.

"Of course," Blaise said softly.

With his cane back in his hands he felt much more stable. How had he managed to walk without it anyway? Blinking again, Theodore stared down at Darla and took a deep breath. What could he say? He looked over to Blaise for some help. They locked eyes for a brief moment and Theodore seemed to find his words again. "You look exhausted," he finally said. "Sleep, now." What? How was that the only thing he could come up with to say? Sure, maybe sleep was the most logical thing, but it wasn't what he wanted.

Darla stared up at him for a moment before taking his hand in hers. "Come sit with me, daddy."

Who was he to deny her simple request? Theodore managed to stand up and sat on the side of the bed, holding tightly to Darla's hand.

"Well, hello to you too, Uncle Theo."

Wait…was that? Theodore felt like the world had been flipped upside down. "Scorpius," he said and looked at the next bed.

Scorpius laid there, looking a bit worse for wear. He was deathly pale and underweight, but he seemed happy enough. His hair clung to his forehead and his eyes were glossy. But he was alive. Theodore wanted to reach out and hold onto him as well, but he was too awed to move.

"Draco," he finally said and cleaned off his glasses. "I don't know…. WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he asked, accusingly.

Draco didn't even flinch. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his son. "I don't think I should explain this one. Let your daughter tell you the story."

Darla looked up and smiled. She had that stupid stuffed owl right beside her and was holding onto it tightly. Draco pulled the curtain shut, giving the two a little time together without as much interruption. Theodore could still hear Draco and Scorpius talking, but their voices were muffled. Obviously, Draco wasn't very good at silencing charms.

Theodore listened vaguely to Darla talk about faeries and a professor and her friends and Scorpius, though he was only about half listening. Mostly, he was looking at her. She looked so small, why hadn't he noticed before how very small she was? How long had she been acting as the adult and trying to keep things under control? He knew that in the past few months papers had been piling up in the trash, no coffee had been made, and he couldn't remember the last time he had actually eaten a meal. She wasn't an adult, she was a child. Had it really taken death for him to realize this?

"Darla," he said as he sank down onto the edge of the bed. "I—are you really here?"

Darla sat up and tilted her head to the side, a smirk playing on her lips. "Of course I am, you really are quite silly sometimes." Her smirk faltered slightly and she looked down. "I'm glad I'm here…I didn't think that I would get back."

"I never thought I would see you again," Theodore said before he could stop himself. His eyes were brimming with tears and he honestly had no clue what he was doing. Was it okay to be emotional at this point? "To lose your mother…and then you…it just seemed so…I thought I was cursed."

Tears, by this point, were welling up in Darla's eyes and she looked to Theodore as though to see if it was okay. He blinked, causing a couple to slide down his cheeks and as soon as that happened Darla seemed to absolutely explode. She grabbed Theodore's arm and held him close, sobbing loudly and acting the part of the little girl that she was. Theodore followed his instinct and wrapped an arm around her, crying though he wasn't sure why. In fact, it dawned on him that there was absolutely no reason to cry at all. Suddenly, everything became hilarious. Theodore's crying became laughter, mad and hysterical laugher.

Although Darla's tears had faded, she was looking at her father like he had just gone completely over the edge. "I must have missed a very funny joke."

Theodore wiped his face off on his shirt and shook his head, still laughing. "It's just ridiculous. Faeries, kidnapping, change-things, and now you…you're here and I can't…I just can't believe it."

Darla stuck out her lip and crossed her arms. "Are you calling me a liar?"

Theodore rolled his eyes, he just couldn't help but smile despite the fact that Darla was obviously growing angry. "I love you," he said rather unceremoniously.

Darla stared at him for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. Finally, he was saying something that she had hoped he would be able to say, and she had no idea what to say back. "I know," she finally said, parroting what he had said when she said she loved him. "I…I'm your moon."

"And I'm your star," Theodore said instantly and brushed Darla's hair back, it had gotten quite long since the last time he had seen her. "No matter where you are."

Darla smiled and rested her head against Theodore's shoulder. "What's that book about anyway?" She had asked that question before, but she had never really gotten an answer.

"Nothing," Theodore admitted. "That book isn't about anything, really. Have you ever noticed what a terrible rhyme scheme it has and how it really doesn't make much sense?"

In all honesty, Darla had never thought about it. She thought that it was a fine book. Granted, she had never actually seen the book, but Theodore had told her the story enough times that she had memorized it.

"When you were about four you wouldn't go to sleep. I tried everything. Milk, tea, rocking, everything. Your mother was…" Theodore paused and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I tried reading you stories, but you wouldn't go to sleep for anything. So, I just made up a new story, and you liked it. So, I kept telling you the same story and it worked every time. That's why the moon story doesn't make much sense."

Darla shook her head. "I still think it's a wonderful story," Darla said and leaned against her father's shoulders.

"Well, you can think that, but it's really stupid." He was almost embarrassed to admit that he had created such a stupid story, but he realized that the story did mean something to his daughter. Knowing that he had managed to create something that meant something in her life made him feel a bit better about it. "Everything is going to change," he promised. In the little time he had spent here, he had decided that things would change. He was going to be the father he wanted to be and not the father he had grown up with.

"I know," Darla said and looked at the floor. "I decided that before. When I was in Faerie I told myself that if I got out then I would be a better person and I would get along with you better."

Theodore shook his head instantly and put his arm around Darla's shoulder. "No, that's not it. You're not to blame, not completely. Maybe a little but…hold on, I'm making things worse. What I mean is that I was…I was starting to become the person I never wanted to be. I had started to turn into my father. Even though I hated him, I was really becoming Benjamin."

Darla looked up, her eyes wide again. "That's who Benjamin was? That's why Uncle Draco called you that? Benjamin was your father?"

"Yes…" Theodore admitted. Maybe he should have left that part out, but there was no going back now. Eventually, he was going to have to tell Darla about his past. Not now, though. He wasn't going to bring up such terrible memories at a time when he was so happy. For the first time in a very long time, Theodore was truly happy. He had everything here with him that he could ever need now. "We'll talk about him later, okay…Spite?"

Darla perked up again, hearing the familiar nickname. She grinned and pulled away from Theodore, as happy as anyone could be. "Alright, Daddy. Um, no offense, but I have a lot of work I need to get done and, um…I think I have to go back to class sometime this week. Did you know that nearly getting killed doesn't get you out of exams?"

"I've heard that before." Theodore did remember the number of times that the Potter kid had saved the entire wizarding world, nearly died, and still had to take exams. Of course, Theodore would have complained that it was unfair if the boy had managed to escape testing. "I hate to leave you, though."

Rolling her eyes, Darla took her father's hand. "You're not, you're just going home and waiting for me to get there. This time, it's not leaving and it's not forgetting. It's just waiting. Does that make sense?"

"You rarely make sense."

"So I've been told."

Theodore sighed and stood up. "But, this time you do make a bit of sense. I'll be waiting…at home." He certainly would be waiting this time. There was no way he would be able to focus on working so long as he knew that his daughter was alive and that she might be in danger. "Just…just don't get into anymore trouble."

"I promise nothing," Darla said, smiling slyly. "I won't get kidnapped or killed, but trouble might happen. As long as James is around there will be trouble."

What could he say to that? "At least try to be good," he muttered. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

Darla nodded and wiped her eyes. Everything was, for once, absolutely perfect and right in the world. "I love you, Daddy," she said.

Theodore didn't want to cry again, but he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He blinked several times and cleared his throat. "I love you too," he told her, gently, before leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

It took all his willpower to leave the room and for once it wasn't because his leg was bothering him. He wanted to just sit there and watch her for a while and just be near her, know that she really was alive and well. But, Theodore knew that he had to leave at some point. He did have some work that he needed to try and do and Darla did have homework to get to. Still, it would have been nice if he could have just frozen time and stayed in that moment forever. It was probably the best he could remember feeling since his wedding day.

Blaise met him outside and grinned, looking like a fool. "Oh, Blaise," he said in a poor imitation of Theodore's voice. "Don't you know that I have things to do? I can't possibly be bothered by whatever insane situation you've gotten yourself in this time. Now, go away, Oh, no, not my arm, Blaise, stop, Blaise, stop, Blaise—OW!"

Theodore had hit Blaise in the shins with his cane. Regardless of what happened, Theodore still didn't like being mocked. "Shut up…I'm…I'm happy right now."

"Happy? Why, what's that? I didn't know that work was even in your vocabulary." Blaise took a deep breath and put his arm around Theodore's shoulders. "Look at this, there's a whole new generation of kids here and they're all already getting kidnapped and nearly killed. Reminds me of my time here."

A trip down memory lane wasn't exactly what Theodore wanted, but he had to admit that it was a bit similar. Still, he didn't want to relive some of the worst seven years of his life. "Just hope there's not another war," he said because he was certain that there wouldn't be.

"Well, you can rest assured that the world is in safe hands…maybe!" Blaise's smile fell slightly. "You know, Mars was there too. He went with them to save everyone."

"I believe that Darla mentioned that."

"I think I'm feeling proud," Blaise said, earnestly. "To think that he would risk so much for someone he barely knows. I wonder if he did it because—"

Theodore shook his head. "Don't say it, Blaise. If she doesn't know then there's no reason to let anything slip. Especially not here where people might hear. We can talk about this later, alright?"

Blaise nodded. He seemed to understand that this was neither the time nor the place to discuss such things. "I'm just glad that everyone is alive and well. Maybe now things can just slow down and be normal, huh?"

Things wouldn't be normal. There was no going back to the same routine and Theodore knew this. He smiled and shook his head. If things were going to change then he was going to have to be the one that changed them. No more living in fear and no more brooding about things that had happened long ago. There was only now and Theodore had to make the present as good at it could be. Knowing what would happen if Darla died, he vowed to never let her come to harm. For better or for worse, he had to be a father. And, damnit, he was going to be the kind of father he would have liked to have had.

/ **Alright, one more chapter and then we can close this part of the story. I'm trying to decide if I should do another one after this…I don't know. I suppose it really depends on if people still like this story or not and if people do want more. So, tell me if you want a second one and we'll go from there. I think I left things open enough for another story.**


	20. Chapter 20

The next couple of months were difficult. Under Draco's orders, Scorpius and Darla were both forced to stay in the Hospital Wing until April had passed. It was the first weekend of May that they were finally both declared to be completely unaffected by their time in Faerie and let free. The newfound freedom might have been great if not for the fact that there was an entire mountain of work they both had to finish. Finishing homework, catching up in classes, and studying for exams seemed to take up most of Darla's time. She had barely even seen James, she had even missed seeing him play in a Quidditch game. The only person she really saw anymore was Lysander, and that was to study. Lysander didn't mention anything about Faerie during this time and, in fact, avoided the subject entirely. Darla was certain that he was hiding something, but she had too much work to do to be able to press him for information.

It wasn't until late May that Darla finally got a break from working so much. She was sitting in the library, as per usual. Lysander had been with her, but he mentioned something about finding a bug he saw on the wall and trotted off.

Darla groaned and closed her Charms textbook. "There's no possible way I'm going to pass this."

"I bet you will. You're really smart…when you want to be."

Darla instantly perked up a bit and smiled slightly. "Adam!" How could she have possibly have forgotten to see Adam? She hadn't seen him since the train ride back to school. After that she had gotten so busy with everything that he just slipped her mind.

Adam waved slightly. He stood awkwardly by the table. "Hey…" He looked down and took a deep breath. "Wait, before you say anything I have something to say. Well, I had something to say, but I don't know what it is anymore. I wrote a speech, but it was stupid, so I'm not going to use it. I had a lot to say, but I don't know how to say it. I think I'm just happy you're alive, but there's more to it than that. You were dead…and now you're not…and…Oh Merlin, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Darla blinked and tried to process all of this. She looked down at her lap to see what Buttons thought of this. Buttons seemed to think that sleeping was the best solution.

"Yes," Darla said, "but I like your rambling."

"I just don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Darla smiled up at him. "You don't have to say anything. It's all really complicated and it's hard to explain, you know?"

Adam looked down and cleared his throat. "I know. It would take a long time to explain, right?"

Darla nodded.

"And it would take a lot of time for me to understand. All of this, getting to know you again and getting used to having you back…it'll take some time." He paused and bit the inside of his lip for a moment. "Can we just skip that part and get to the part where we're friends again?"

Darla grinned and got out of her seat, wrapping her arms around Adam. "I don't think we ever stopped being friends," she assured him. "Now, as much as I love reading all of this studying had really fried my brain completely. Can we go somewhere that's not here?"

Adam nodded. "I would love to. Where to?"

"Anywhere but here, that's all I care about." Darla took Adam's hand and escaped from the library. Honestly, she was surprised that Lysander didn't pop up and offer to go 'have a hang out' with them or insist on studying more.

For the remainder of the day, Darla and Adam stayed outside. They didn't actually do anything, just sat down by the lake and watched the squid and made flower chains. Staring at the squid made Darla remember her detention with Professor Amicussio.

"It's a kelpie," she told Adam. "The squid. Technically speaking it's not a squid, not really. It can be almost anything."

Adam looked out over the water. "I guess it likes being a squid. I mean, it's been a squid for years."

"Being a squid might not be so bad."

Adam shook his head. "I wouldn't want to be a squid."

"I don't think I'd make a very good squid. I can't swim."

"Me neither."

Darla smiled. "I don't know, maybe being a squid would be…cool? But, squids are damp, weird, and frightening. I don't know about that. Do you think squids can automatically swim?"

They spent the rest of their time debating whether or not squids were born with the ability to swim and if owls were born to fly. They never reached a real conclusion, but that didn't really matter. Nothing really mattered. They were together and they were friends. Who really cared about squids and owls when you had someone as a friend?

"James, this is possibly the worst idea you've ever had!"

Darla was frustrated. There was no need for any of this, and yet James felt the need to do, well, to do something. Exams were over, the end of year feast was about to begin, and Darla simply didn't have the time for this. She was exhausted from studying and just ready to enjoy a quiet night before leaving for school. James, of course, wasn't going to let that happen.

James rolled his eyes. "Look, Hedge-Pixie, it's a perfect idea. Hufflepuff won the house cup, right?"

"Yes," Lysander said and grinned. "I think this is due to them having the most points, however I can't be—"

Freddie cut Lysander off quickly. "It's a brilliant plan. No one is going to see this coming. It'll be perfect."

Darla rubbed her face with her hands. "James, Freddie, I'm tired. I just want to go eat and talk to Adam and then go to bed. It's been an impossible year."

"It has, and we're lucky to be alive," James agreed. "Which is why we have to do this. Look, we've got everything set up, all we have to do is wait for everyone to get in there. It's so simple it's perfect."

Lorcan sighed. "I'll admit, it's not overly complicated. However, it's really probably a bad way to end the year."

"Look, you guys are just kids, which is why I'm teaching you how this works. One day I'll have graduated and we'll need you guys to carry on the tradition of pranking. Now, just trust me, alright?"

Darla groaned. "Fine, James, fine. You win. We'll go through with your plan. But if we get in trouble—"

"We won't. It's the end of the year, what could they do to us?"

Darla could think of plenty of things they could do and none of them were particularly pleasant. Then again, none of them were really logical either. They couldn't give them detention and they couldn't take away points. Maybe James was right. Besides, it was like he had told her before. They had to go out with a bang.

"You win," she told him. "I guess there's really not much they can do to us."

"They could yell," Lysander said in a chipper voice.

"Not helping, Ly," James said as he crouched down. "Alright, Moggers is about to make her speech. Focus on the balloons, guys. You know what to do."

The Great Hall was filled with black and yellow balloons to signify Hufflepuff winning the house cup. At first James had been horribly upset about Hufflepuff winning, almost as upset as he had been when he realized how much Quidditch he had missed when he was in Faerie. But it didn't take long for him to come up with an idea. It was like nothing had happened. He was back to being normal James.

Darla wondered if she would ever be like that, the way she was before. She glanced over at Lysander and he smiled slightly. One thing she knew was that Lysander wasn't back to his old safe. He acted like Lysander, but after their conversation in the Hospital Wing Darla had noticed a difference. None of the others knew and maybe it was better that way. They could all be normal and happy. It was better that way.

Turning around James grinned and held up his wand, signalling for the others to follow his lead. Freddie immediately raised his wand up as did Lysander. Lorcan hesitated for a moment but he gave in and held his wand up. Maybe this was how to make things normal. Maybe if you just acted like everything was normal then eventually it would be. So, Darla raised her wand and smiled slightly. This really wasn't a terrible prank.

"And I would like to congratulate Hufflepuff house on winning the house cup," Professor McGonagall said.

"Now," James whispered.

All at once the four of them whispered the spell. The results were instant. The balloons popped loudly. But, of course, that wasn't the end of it. A purple liquid rained down on the Great Hall as the balloons popped. People screamed and yelped and James quickly got up.

"Now we run," he announced as he took off down the hall.

Giggling, Darla got up and followed after him, stumbling slightly. Alright, so it was fun. She should've known better than to doubt James. He always had the best ideas and who was she to question those now? After all, he had helped to save her life.

"What're you doing?"

This wasn't part of the plan. Darla yelped as someone grabbed her shoulder.

James and the others stopped.

"Oh, hi Mars," she said with a smile. "I was just running."

"Yeah," James said, "sometimes you just feel like running. And, you know, sometimes we just like to run through the halls."

"Why?"

"Presumably so that I wouldn't catch him."

At that point everyone froze. Lysander was the only one still smiling. James looked as though he was trying to come up with an excuse, Freddie was trying very hard not to laugh, Lorcan looked horribly ashamed of himself, and Darla was focused on Mars.

Professor McGonagall looked them all over. She was obviously very unhappy, but it was very hard to take her seriously when she had bright purple hair. Darla bit her lip and looked down. Yes, this was probably James's best prank so far.

"You know, Professor, this might be the wrong time to mention it but I really do like your new style."

"Mister Potter, you have absolutely no sense of timing."

James coughed to cover a laugh. "So…what's the punishment? It's the last day. Do we have detention at the start of the year or are you taking off points already?"

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment. "Actually, Mister Potter, I think I have the perfect punishment for you."

"Alright," James nodded. He actually looked a bit worried now. "What, uh, what is it?"

Now Professor McGonagall was smiling. "I wanted you to meet your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

James raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's an odd thing. I mean, that's definitely a new one. Not a very creative one, but still new."

"Professor Potter, would you mind?"

"Oh no!" James's eyes got wide and he backed up. "That's impossible. That's…that's just impossible."

Harry, looking incredibly displeased, walked forward. His usually black hair was vibrant purple. "James," he said slowly. "Why is my hair purple?"

James took a step back. "Because purple is the new style? It's all the rage in France, ask Fleur."

"James." Harry adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath. "I came to interview, I decided to surprise you at the feast, and this is what I get."

"Well, see…you're not supposed to be a teacher. You're an Auror."

"Yes, but they needed someone to fill the position for a little while. I thought it would be a good idea. Now, tell me, why is my hair purple?"

Lysander stepped forward. "Well, it could have something to do with the potion James and Freddie put into the balloons we all popped. Oh, unless it was like that before the feast, in which case I don't know. It must be a stylistic choice of yours, sir."

"Not helping, Ly," James mumbled.

Mars raised his hand. "Can I just say that I had nothing to do with this? This is a wrong place – wrong time sort of deal for me. Happens to my dad all the time."

"As a Prefect, he really should have stopped us," James interjected.

Professor McGonagall stared down at James. "Again, Mister Potter, you have absolutely no sense of timing."

"James, we'll talk about this when we get home."

"Home? Yes, home is where you belong. School is where I belong. You can't mix the two. It's just not alright."

Harry sighed. "Would you rather talk about this now?"

"No, this is school. We can't talk about things at school."

Mars looked down. "Family arguments, best if we be on our way. These can get pretty nasty," he explained and started walking away.

It was incredibly awkward to watch James argue with his father. So, Darla turned and trotted after Mars. At least that having Harry there meant that the teacher wasn't going to be evil. Well, he certainly wouldn't be an evil faerie and that was a plus.

"So, we leave tomorrow," Lorcan muttered

Lysander looked up. "Brother, it's my job to point out the obvious. Don't start doing it or there could be horrible confusion as to which of us it Lorcan and which of us is Lysander…I'm Lysander."

"Okay, kids need to stop following me," Mars said and put his hands in his pockets. "Why don't you two go debate which one of you is Lorsander somewhere else?"

"Lorcan and Lysander. Lorsander is no one," Lysander pointed out. "Unless we secretly have a brother that mother is hiding from us. Do you think that's it?"

Lorcan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's exactly what's going on. C'mon, let's go see if we can find something to eat…that is if the Great Hall isn't in bedlam."

"It's not in bedlam, it's in Hogwarts," Lysander noted as Lorcan pulled him away.

It was strange to Darla to know that she would be leaving Hogwarts. Somehow and for some reason it really had started to feel like home. She was used to James and Freddie getting into trouble, she was used to Lysander being insane and Lorcan struggling to be completely sane, and she had even gotten used to Albus and Scorpius. She remembered how she had originally been willing to try school out for only a week. She hadn't planned on staying if she could help it. Now here she was, happy and not quite ready to leave yet.

"I should go pack," she said to herself. She hadn't been willing to pack before she left home and now she was having troubling forcing herself to pack to go back home.

Mars stopped walking. "Hey, kid?"

Darla blinked. "Am I kid?"

"Are you a kid?"

"I just turned twelve a few months ago, am I a kid?"

"Yeah, in a lot of ways you are."

"And in other ways?"

Mars shook his head. "In other ways you're Theodore's kid, and that means a lot of things. Mostly, it means that you're weird as hell."

That was fair. Darla couldn't argue with that. "Is there a 'but' coming?"

"No, there's not. You're Theodore's kid and you're weird as hell." He laughed slightly. "Been a weird year, hasn't it?"

"You could say that."

"I did."

Darla rolled her eyes. "Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Maybe."

"Mars!"

Mars smirked and turned to her. He leaned back against the wall. "You just seem like a different person. I mean, when I first saw you, you were the kid in the common room that couldn't make friends even if you paid them. And now you're…the little girl getting kidnapped by evil faeries and taken to some dimension that even my dad would think was gaudy." He shook his head. "It's just weird, like you, like your father."

Darla really wasn't sure if that was supposed to be complimentary or not. However, she decided to take it as such. "Well, I was just kidnapped that one time and I don't plan on it happening again."

"Well, don't. Do you have any idea how long we were gone for? When dad saw me he refused to let go for several hours. He kept talking about how he'd bought a kitten…that kitten is probably lost by now, provided he ever actually bought the kitten."

"You're off topic."

"There was a topic?"

"…I guess there really wasn't."

Mars reached down and ruffled Darla's hair slightly. "Seriously, kid, between your dad almost getting himself killed and you making everyone think that you had gotten yourself killed, well, it's time to stop almost dying. Maybe next year will be better."

"James's dad is going to be a professor!"

"Or maybe I'll transfer schools."

Darla laughed, though she wasn't entirely sure Mars was joking. She hadn't known him long enough to tell. "Will I see you at all over the summer?"

"Knowing my father you will. Unless I can escape to some remote island off the coast of Italy…" Mars shook his head. "Hey, kid?"

"Yeah?"

Mars hesitated for a moment before he started walking toward the dungeons. "I'll see you later."

Darla watched him leave and wondered if there was something else he wanted to say. Then again, he was a strange boy. So, she shrugged it off and headed to her Common Room.

Mars had been right. She was a different person than she had been before. Everything had changed completely. Vaguely she remembered first coming to Hogwarts and meeting James on the train and flooding the Slytherin Common Room. In retrospect, that was a stupid idea. Then, there was the big change when she actually managed to switch into a different house. She still wasn't entirely sure how she had managed that. She and her father had nearly lost each other. The world was changed.

But how badly changed was it? Sure, there were a lot of good things that had happened, more than she could count. However, there was one massively horribly thing that they had put into effect. If Lysander was right then there was a war coming, a very big war. They had almost killed a Faerie Queen and that couldn't have gone over well in the Fae Courts. Darla wasn't sure how long they would have before the Fae would decide that it would be fun to plan an attack.

"Hey, Buttons," Darla said as she picked up the horrible cat. "Ready to go home?"

Buttons made a noise that sounded like 'glom'.

Darla took this as a yes. As much as she liked being at Hogwarts and being around her friends, maybe it was time to go home. Theodore would be there waiting for her. He would actually be waiting for her. This wasn't like the last time. This wasn't like Christmas. Theodore had seemed so sincere that Darla had to believe him. Things would actually be different.

The entire train ride home was spent listening to James complain about how unfair it was that his father was going to be a professor. He rambled on about how they would have to be sneakier about pranks and they might actually have to go to class. At one point he did talk about how Quidditch was going to be so much better since he would actually be able to play and wouldn't be trapped in an alternate dimension.

Darla stared out the window, watching the countryside pass in a blur. Adam sat beside her, holding tight to Buttons.

Freddie might have interrupted James, but he seemed to busy. He had his arm around Amelia Fawcett's small waist and was holding her tight. They both seemed too interested in each other to notice anyone else in the compartment.

"She's not even listening, is she? Here I am, trying to be nice, and Darla isn't even listening!"

Darla blinked and looked up. "Huh? What? Did I miss something? Was there more rambling?"

James rolled his eyes. "I just asked what you were doing this summer. My entire family gets together a couple of times and it's super boring. Thought maybe you lot could come over."

"…Lot?"

"You, Lorcan, Lysander, uh…erm…that kid."

"Mars?"

"No…that kid?"

Adam looked up. "Adam?"

"Who the hell is Adam," James asked.

"I'm Adam."

"Oh, then, yes…Adam."

Darla smiled slightly and nodded. "If I have the time. I don't know what daddy and I are going to be doing, but it'll probably be a lot of things. We have a lot of things to do…I think. He's reading books about it, he told me."

"Books about what exactly?"

"Father and daughter things. Maybe I should get a book as well."

Adam smiled. "You're a fast learner."

Darla wasn't sure if she had taken Adam's hand or if he had taken hers. Either way, they were holding hands and Darla was alright with that. Adam was her best friend, so she thought it was alright. He wasn't older than her like James was, so she thought it was alright for them to hold hands with each other.

James didn't seem to notice, or he didn't care. He went back to his long speech about how his father had a very important job and he couldn't possibly become a teacher. Darla almost listened to part of it.

The train came to a halt at the station. Freddie and Amelia managed to untangle themselves from one another. Adam let go of Darla and handed Buttons to her.

"Well, here we are," James announced.

Darla felt slightly nauseous. What if she had been wrong to trust her father again? What if he had forgotten about her again? After all, Christmas hadn't gone over so well. What if he missed the date or forgot what time he was supposed to be there. Darla allowed James to guide her through the crowd. She was thankful that he was there.

They stepped onto the platform and Darla glanced around, not seeing her father anywhere.

"Well, little Hedge-Pixies," James said as he hugged her. "I'll see you over the summer, right?"

Darla hugged him back and nodded. "Yes…and please be good."

"Don't count on it!"

Adam didn't give her a hug, he just stood there awkwardly for a moment. "So, um…maybe I'll see you later?"

"Of course you will," Darla promised him. "Buttons will miss you."

"And I'll miss Buttons."

"And…and I'll miss you too."

Adam paused and looked at the ground. "I'll…I'll miss you too. I have to go."

He was an awkward boy, that was for sure. Darla liked him though. He was nice and he didn't try to blow things up. It was nice to occasionally get away from people who liked to blow things up.

She didn't see the Scamander twins anywhere. Then again, they had a tendency to disappear and then reappear right beside you. She also didn't see anyone with a cane or a dark ponytail.

Darla was beginning to despair. Now she was starting to look for her uncle. Then she felt something tap her on the shoulder. It took her a few seconds to realise that it was a cane.

"Daddy," she squealed and whirled around. She threw her arms around his waist and held on tight. "You didn't forget!"

Theodore smiled and hugged Darla back. "Of course not, not this time and not ever. I told you that, didn't I?"

Darla refrained from mentioning that he had told her that before. Instead, she enjoyed the moment. "Are we going home now?"

"Where else would we go, Spite?"

It was going to be a truly wonderful summer.

**A/N: Well, that certainly took forever to update. Anyway, that's the last chapter of this part of our story. I'm currently working on the next one, which will (in theory) be better organised and have more regular updates…Note, this theory is about as solid as any of Theodore's theories. However, we'll try.**


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